


Undeniable

by gxldensnitched



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: A little angst, Angst, Cute, Detention, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluffy, Gen, Happy Ending, Harry Potter Next Generation, He’s such a dork, Hogwarts Fifth Year, Love, M/M, Mutual Pining, Nerdy Scorpius, Next Gen, Pining, Pining Scorpius Malfoy, Popular Albus, Potions, Potter Family, Pure, Quidditch, Scorbus, Slytherin Albus Severus Potter, Slytherin Scorpius Malfoy, assignments, partners, potion making, scorbus fic, scorbus ficlet, scorbus fluff, seriously, these two are so cute, this is purely fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-04
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-05-18 08:32:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 26,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14849330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gxldensnitched/pseuds/gxldensnitched
Summary: Everyone loves Albus Potter, but he only has eyes for one person.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a prompt I received: nerdy Scorpius and popular Al :) This was supposed to be a short fic but I got a little carried away... more to come!

“Mr. Malfoy, you may partner up with Mr. Potter.” 

Scorpius jerked his head up to face Professor Slughorn so fast that he nearly got whiplash. He couldn’t be serious. 

“A- Albus?” Scorpius asked, eyes wide. The butterflies in his stomach felt like they were doing a moderately complicated gymnastics routine. 

He cringed immediately after speaking as he heard the snickers from his classmates, who didn’t bother trying to conceal them. Even Rose Granger-Weasley was looking sympathetically in Albus’s direction, but he could tell she was mainly relieved that it wasn’t her. 

“Yes, Mr. Malfoy,” Slughorn said, clasping his hands together, looking all too cheerful for Scorpius’s liking. “Your parents did give me quite a bit of trouble during their years here. How they managed to get into detentions from opposite sides of the room, I’ll never truly understand. I trust you two not to do the same?” He gave Scorpius a warm smile that did almost nothing to reassure him. 

“Yes, sir.” Scorpius hesitantly averted his eyes over to where Albus Potter was chatting animatedly with a group of Slytherins, and to Scorpius’s slight astonishment, a few Gryffindors who they shared potions class with. 

_Of course house rivalry doesn’t matter when it comes to Albus Potter,_ he thought to himself as a raven haired Gryffindor girl laughed loudly at something Albus had said. 

To no one’s surprise, Albus Potter was one of the most well liked students in their year. The son of the chosen one, with his equally popular siblings, had a vast array of admirers despite being sorted into Slytherin. In fact, being in Slytherin seemed to make him even more of a catch, and Scorpius could easily see the appeal; everyone loved a bad boy. With his world famous parents, charming green eyes, and enough Quidditch skill to rival Viktor Krum, he couldn’t name a single person who disliked Albus Severus Potter, not even the Gryffindors who were upset that their house didn’t get the entire Potter set. 

Albus hadn’t seemed to have heard Slughorn’s announcement, and was now in a deep conversation with a tall, brown haired Slytherin named Flint. Scorpius didn’t know much about Flint except that he was a chaser on the team, but he had eagerly joined in to the chants of _“son of Voldemort!”_ back in second year, so Scorpius tried his best to steer clear of him and his cronies. 

“You may proceed to start gathering your materials! Sleeping droughts are a complex and detail-oriented solution to brew, so work carefully with your partner and make sure to use your class time effectively! Your final product should be deep purple in colour,” Slughorn said cheerfully, gesturing openly to the class. As people started to head over to the storage cupboards, Scorpius noticed that Albus Potter still had no idea what was going on, and seemingly, neither did his friends, who were in a passionate discussion about what sounded to Scorpius like Quidditch. 

With a sigh, he got up and started to walk over to where Albus was sitting. If he made a complete fool of himself in front of a group of the most popular students in his year, the best he could do was hope they’d forget about it in a week or two. 

He stopped within a short distance of Albus’s desk, deciding how to inform him that he’d been paired with his father’s childhood rival. 

“You don’t honestly believe Portree could beat the Harpies, do you?” Albus was saying, leaning forward on his chair, mouth agape. 

“I’d say you’re a little biased, Albus! Your mum plays for the Harpies,” Flint retorted, eyebrows raised.

“That has nothing to do with it!” Albus protested. “Portree hasn’t won a game in three years!” 

“That’s because their best players conveniently caught a nasty case of dragon pox!” 

Albus rolled his eyes, and looked around the room as he started to realize people were getting to work. His startling green eyes landed past Flint and onto where Scorpius was awkwardly standing, fiddling with his wand. He looked surprised, almost as if he’d just noticed they shared potions class together.

Scorpius opened his mouth to say something, but the words didn’t have time to leave his mouth before Flint whipped around to see what Albus was looking at. Flint raised his eyebrows, an expression of annoyance growing on his pale face. 

“Do you need something, Malfoy?” He asked coldly. 

Albus gave him a slight glance, but didn’t comment. 

“I kind of need my partner,” Scorpius replied, and the Gryffindor girl beside Albus snickered. “Albus, Slughorn says we’re- we’re supposed be partners. For the sleeping draught?” 

Albus looked more confused than upset, which Scorpius took as a good sign. 

“Are you sure about that?” Albus asked slowly, but the girl intervened before he could reply. 

“Why on earth would Slughorn pair you with him? He may be daft, but not _that_ daft,” she said, as the students around her sniggered. 

“It’s almost laughable. A Potter and a Malfoy,” Flint added, and Scorpius wanted nothing more than to disappear and ask Slughorn if he could work on the potion alone, complexity be damned. 

Albus shot Flint a hard look that quickly wiped the smile off his face. Then he turned back in his chair to face Scorpius, who breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Did he really partner us up?” 

“Yes, he did, you can ask him if you want,” he said, noticing that Albus’s friends were hanging on to every word of the conversation. A few of them looked disbelieving, but the majority just looked amused.

Scorpius had to force himself to stay put no matter how much his brain was telling him to take off. He couldn’t make an even bigger fool of himself than he currently was. Especially not in front of the one person who didn’t shove past him in the hallway any chance he got. 

Albus Potter was a complete mystery to him. Any normal person in Albus’s shoes would have despised Scorpius with a passion. After all, his father (although Scorpius firmly believed he had changed) was an ex-Death Eater. They’d been on opposite sides of the war, and yet, Albus Potter had never tried to hex him in their shared dorms, vandalize his books, or even call him a Death Eater. In fact, they’d never really spoken except for an occasional “did we have homework?” when none of Albus’s friends were around to ask.

It would be refreshing, Scorpius supposed, working with someone who didn’t seem to hate him over something he had no control over. 

“Okay, then,” Albus said, letting out a breath. He started to pick up his things, and the rest of his group did the same, not bothering to mask their appalled expressions regarding this obvious injustice. 

“I’m going to go work with Rose,” the dark haired Gryffindor girl said, as she slowly started to get up with an air of haughtiness. “Don’t let him convert you to the dark side!” 

“Leave it, Katie.” Albus’s voice was lower than it usually was, and he furrowed his eyebrows at her as he spoke. He walked over to Scorpius until they were about a meter apart, and for a second, it seemed like the eternally confident Albus Potter didn’t know what to say.

Scorpius knew what that felt like, so he interjected before Albus could speak. 

“Do you want to set up while I grab the ingredients? Or you could grab the ingredients and I could set up. Whichever you’d prefer.” He spoke quickly, as he tended to do when he was nervous. 

“Hmm, that’s an awfully hard decision to make,” Albus said, raising an eyebrow. 

“Is it? I’ve noticed you’re a little clumsy sometimes. No offence of course,” Scorpius replied, failing to note the obvious sarcasm on Albus’s part. “But maybe I should get our things. Not that I watch you closely or anything. That would be slightly stalker-ish of me. It’s just that last class you dropped your jar of beetle eyes and they rolled all over the classroom. You can probably imagine how hard it is to clean beetle eyes off the soles of leather shoes...” Scorpius trailed off as he noticed the expression of amusement on Albus’s face. 

“I guess you can get the ingredients then, since I’ll probably trip and get Flobberworm mucus in your eye or something.” 

Scorpius winced.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to-“ he started, feeling a dreadful sense of worry creep up in him, but he cut his sentence short when Albus burst out laughing. 

“I was kidding!”

“Oh,” Scorpius breathed. “Okay.”

“Sorry about your shoes. I’ll wait at your desk.” Albus grinned as he walked away, and Scorpius could feel his cheeks growing warm. Sighing, he realized that keeping his mouth shut was a skill he had yet to master. 

Scorpius waited for the small crowd to scatter before making his way into the old, wooden storage cupboards and gathering their materials into a small tray. The lavender sprigs were particularly hard to find, so it took a while before he was able to head back to his seat. He hoped Albus wouldn’t mind. 

As he reached his desk in the back corner, he noticed that Albus had set up their area perfectly. He’d moved the other chairs aside so they’d have space to move about, and the cauldron was arranged neatly beside the utensils they’d be using. 

“Took you long enough,” Albus said. He was teetering back in his seat, balancing on the two back legs of the stool. The sight gave Scorpius anxiety. 

“Sorry, it was dark in there.” Scorpius replied, setting the ingredients as far away from Albus as he could. He’d just gotten new robes, and his father would not be pleased if he got them dirty. 

“You know, we’ve only conversed for a total of two minutes, and you’ve already apologized twice. According to my calculations, that’s one sorry per minute,” Albus pointed out, bringing his stool back on all fours as he stared up at Scorpius expectantly. 

“Sorry,” Scorpius said instinctively.

“Merlin, this should be a drinking game.” Albus said incredulously. “Taking a shot of firewhisky every time you say sorry.” 

“I wouldn’t recommend that.” 

“Because I’d pass out within twenty minutes?” 

“Ten, probably,” he responded, making Albus laugh, and he couldn’t quite put his finger on why the sound made his stomach do a flip. 

They worked comfortably for the next half hour, and Scorpius found that Albus was a surprisingly good partner. He did his fair share of work, and stirred daintily as Scorpius poured the ingredients into their bubbling cauldron. Scorpius couldn’t help but notice the way the glow of the potion made Albus’s emerald green eyes light up all the more. 

“Okay, your turn to stir. Twice counterclockwise,” he said, handing over the mixing spoon, his fingers faintly brushing Scorpius’s. 

Scorpius could almost see the the blush that was undoubtedly making its way onto his face, but fortunately, Albus was too busy measuring lavender sprigs to notice. 

He stirred the draught as Albus poured the sprigs in, suddenly becoming very aware of his technique. He tried to mimic the way Albus stirred it, with a light wrist movement. 

But he’d always been more of the bookish type, and he was a lot better at memorizing facts than using his hands. 

“Try slowing down a little,” Albus said as the spoon clanged against the inside of the cauldron, splashing a little solution onto the rims. “We do still have an hour left, you know. Here, let me help.” 

Albus scooted his chair closer, and placed his hand directly over top of Scorpius’s on the mixing spoon. 

Scorpius took a breath, becoming aware of just how close Albus was sitting. He could smell Albus’s cologne, a pleasant lavender scent. Or was that just from the lavender sprigs they’d been using? It must have been. Thoughts rushed through Scorpius’s head as he did his best to follow Albus’s guidance.

Their shoulders were brushing, and he could feel the cool of Albus’s hand on top of his as he gently stirred the potion. 

After stirring twice clockwise, which felt to Scorpius like a much too short period of time, Albus removed his hand, smirking at Scorpius as their potion turned a pleasant lilac colour. 

“See? It looks so much better than the textbook version,” Albus said, clearly proud of their combined potion making abilities. 

“It does, doesn’t it?” Scorpius responded, when his heart rate had returned to a somewhat normal range. “Are you this helpful with all your potions partners?” 

“Just the ones I like.” He grinned at Scorpius as he spoke, with that charming Albus Potter smile, and there went his heart again. 

“Oh.” 

He couldn’t get Albus Potter off his mind for the rest of the day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Albus Potter realizes there's an even bigger nerd in Hogwarts than Rose Granger Weasley.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part two is done! Thought I'd make it Albus centric for a change :) I've never written from his side before, but now I'm obsessed, so expect more of him later! Writing this makes me love him even more lmao, hope it does the same to you! Enjoy!

There were a lot of things that Albus Potter was good at. Things that might actually come in useful, like potions or charms. He was quite skilled at defence (he firmly believed that his father’s additional holiday lessons had nothing to do with that) and while flying, he could pull out of a sharp drive with his broom (and bones) fully intact. 

But one thing that completely stumped him was history. He hated learning the names and tales of witches and wizards who’d helped “pave the way” as Professor Binns claimed, towards modern magic. It was something he deemed completely unnecessary. After all, what was there to gain by knowing when Stupefy was first used? Or the duration of the goblin revolution? 

Albus personally thought History was boring. They didn’t do much besides take notes and listen to their ghastly professor drone on and on about wars, warlocks, and on good days, historical potion making. 

Albus buried his face in his arms, closing his eyes. It may be dreadful, but history was a great class to take if you wanted to catch up on your sleep. He’d often joked that insomniacs could merely listen to a tape recording of one of Binns’ lessons, and they’d be able to fall asleep in no time. Rose had rolled her eyes, but everyone else laughed, so he paid her no mind. She had an awful sense of humour anyway. 

The caffeine he’d consumed that morning fought to keep him awake, and after half an hour of trying to rest with no avail, he let out a frustrated sigh and lifted his head back up. 

“Good morning, grumpy pants. You only missed every point that Binns said would be on our OWLs,” came Rose’s bored whisper from the seat beside him. 

“It’s afternoon, and I wasn’t asleep,” was his response, which came out muffled as he decided burying his face in his arms was still a better option than trying and failing to listen to the lecture while Rose poked him with her quill whenever he zoned out.

He heard Rose’s sigh and the scratching of her quill on parchment, and smiled into his arms slightly as he realized she wasn’t going to sacrifice her precious note taking time to try and keep him alert. 

After a few minutes of not so satisfying rest, the class slowly started to increase in volume, and Albus looked back up. 

“Is class over already?” He asked, as people began to stand up. 

“No, Albus. He said we could collaborate to answer the questions on the board. You have a terrible sense of hearing, you know that?” Rose asked, but there was no real malice in her voice. 

“If my hearing is so terrible, why do I know that Yann Fredericks is planning to ask you to the Valentine’s ball?” He said with a raise of his brow, looking up at his cousin smugly.

Rose’s freckled skin went pink, and she shot him a glare that wasn’t up to her usual standards. The look of satisfaction on her face couldn’t be missed, even as she turned to head away from their shared desk. 

“You’re going to abandon me? You know none of my friends were stupid enough to take this horrible class again, Rose!” Albus whined, pulling on Rose’s arm to hold her back. Despite her bossiness and love of control, she was a good partner to work with. Especially when you didn’t know a thing about a subject. 

She turned around with an exasperated look on her face, one that Albus was quite accustomed to. He didn’t mind, he loved getting a rise out of her, even if it meant getting a scolding from his mum. 

“You can sit with my friends and I. If you behave,” she replied, pulling him off the seat. 

“Your friends are all girls.” 

“So?”

“So, that’s a little weird.”

“You’re a little weird, Albus. Besides, Polly would love to work with you.” Rose gave him a slight smile, and he groaned. 

“Absolutely not,” he protested, stopping in his tracks. 

Polly Chapman had been his girlfriend of a pitiful two months, before she’d declared her love for him over dinner and he’d promptly spat out his pumpkin juice. All over the front of her new silk robes, to be specific.

In her defence, they had only been in third year. _Raging hormones_ was Rose’s explanation. 

“Oh, give her another chance!” Rose said, putting an arm around his shoulders and pushing him towards the opposite end of the room. “She hasn’t gotten over you and you know it!” 

“She told me she loved me! We’d only kissed eight times!” 

“You were thirteen, Al! And you seriously kept count?”

Albus’s cheeks grew slightly pink, but pulled away from her. 

“I’ll work alone. Or with the vast array of nerds in this class whose names I don’t even know.” Albus watched with an expression of mock betrayal as his cousin headed over to her group of girls, where he locked eyes with Polly for a brief second before hastily turning away.

“Suit yourself!” Rose said, not looking back. 

Albus ran his hand through his jet black hair with a sigh, looking around the room to see if he could spot at least one person he knew who wouldn’t spend the period gawking at him. His bright eyes scanned the room before falling on a familiar white-blond head of neatly combed hair. 

Scorpius Malfoy would be the perfect partner. After all, his knowledge of potions surpassed even Albus’s own, which made him a certified genius in Albus’s eyes. He’d been much nicer than Albus had expected, and the last time they’d worked together was surprisingly pleasant. Not to mention the way Scorpius seemed to know the reason behind everything, from why you shouldn’t add too much lavender sprigs to why Slughorn had paired them together in the first place. 

He quietly approached Scorpius, who was sitting a few rows ahead of him, books and papers strewn all over his desk. 

“Hey.”

Scorpius startled, dropping his peacock feather quill onto his parchment, creating a coal black smudge.

He turned around to face Albus, a mixture of confusion and relief when he saw who it was. 

“Shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Albus said, giving him an apologetic smile, while also trying not to laugh. He made a mental note to sneak up on Scorpius more often, except next time he’d do it when Scorpius was empty handed.

“Oh, it’s okay, I have plenty of parchment, anyway.” He gestured to the mess on his desk, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“I can see that.” Albus shot him a smile before sitting down. Scorpius’s eyes widened slightly, as if he thought Albus was just passing his desk on the way to someone else’s.

“What? Is this seat taken?” Albus asked, confused. 

“No, it’s not that! You’re completely welcome to sit here.” He paused. “I’m just... wondering... why?” 

“My cousin’s being annoying, and you’re a better partner than her anyway. Unless you were planning on working alone? I can leave if you want.” 

“No!” Scorpius added, a little too quickly. Seeming to notice, he added “I mean, I was. But I’d rather work with you, obviously. If that’s what you want?” 

“That’s why I walked all the way over here,” Albus replied, emphasizing the words _all the way_ and gesturing to his desk, only a few steps behind Scorpius’s. 

He shot Scorpius a sideways grin before fishing around in his bag for a piece of parchment. 

“Oh, right. Obviously.” Scorpius blushed, and Albus laughed. 

“You don’t have to be so nervous, you know! I’m not going to curse you or anything.” Albus laughed, and Scorpius’s shoulders loosened. Albus was used to people being nervous around him, but this felt different. Oddly enough, he felt a little nervous himself. It must have been because of the whole Malfoy-Potter rivalry thing. 

“I know, sorry. It’s just that you’re Albus Potter.” Scorpius spoke lightly, sounding posh even when he was nervous. 

“And you’re Scorpius Malfoy.” Albus responded. “Wanna make a bet?” 

This seemed to scare Scorpius slightly, and his eyes widened. Albus couldn’t help but notice how grey they were. They reminded Albus of thunderstorms, the comforting kind that make you want to snuggle up in bed with coffee (or butterbeer, if he was in the mood) and a book. He’d never met anyone with thunderstorm eyes before, and it took a while for him to pull his own gaze away. 

“A bet?” Scorpius asked.

“M-hmm. If you apologize one more time during the remainder of this class - which, I might add, is a double period - you have to be my potions partner for the rest of the month.” Albus grinned, and Scorpius visibly relaxed, letting out a breath. 

“That doesn’t seem like much of a punishment,” he pointed out. “And what if I win?”

“Then...” Albus pondered for a moment. “I’ll show you something... special.”

Scorpius seemed intrigued. He leaned closer to Albus than he was before. Albus took advantage of this, wriggling his eyebrows. He lowered his voice to a whisper.

“It’s something you’d never get a chance to see with your own eyes. It will utterly enchant you.” He said, in the dramatic voice he usually reserved for babysitting Lily and Hugo, when he’d had to make something mediocre sound interesting in order to keep them still. 

This, however, was far from mediocre.

“I formally agree to this bet,” Scorpius said, and Albus wanted to roll his eyes at how he talked. He sounded like Albus would have when he was trying to imitate one of the annoying, overly serious business wizards his father often complained about. 

“Good.” Albus flashed him a wide grin, and Scorpius reciprocated, making him wonder why he’d never done this sooner. 

“Shall we get started?” Scorpius asked, rearranging the supplies on his desk.

“Do we have to?” 

“Technically, no. Failing is always an option.” Scorpius responded thoughtfully.

“I really can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not.” Albus laughed. “Although if you’re serious, we might as well ditch right now and go flying.” 

Scorpius laughed. 

“It wasn’t sarcasm, but failing isn’t _really_ an option,” He said, as he started to copy down the questions from the blackboard. 

His writing was neat and loopy, and all his letters looked the same. That was a feat Albus could only dream of accomplishing, and he quickly flipped to a piece of empty parchment, hoping that Scorpius hadn’t gotten a glimpse of his scrawly, almost unintelligible handwriting. 

“I don’t care if I fail this class, to be honest.” Albus said, doodling a broomstick on the corner of his page.

Scorpius looked at him incredulously, raising his eyebrows. That had most definitely made him sound like a careless jock. 

“Not that I don’t care about my education or anything. It’s just... history is kind of useless, isn’t it?” Albus said. There was no doubt that Scorpius would agree with him, because he knew there wasn’t a pupil in all of Hogwarts who genuinely enjoyed the class. Albus would safely say he knew almost everyone in their year, and even a few students from other years, thanks to his multitude of relatives. None of them liked history. 

But Scorpius was looking at him like he’d deeply offended his great ancestors. 

“That’s not true! History paved the way towards modern magic!” 

“So I’ve heard. Every day since first year.” Albus rolled his eyes. 

“Without history, we wouldn’t have broomstick advancements. You do know that, right? Your Firebolt would be practically a tree branch. You wouldn’t be able to fly more than five miles per hour.” 

Albus put his hands up defensively. Clearly he was wrong about no one being passionate about history.

“Damn, I’m working with _an actual_ nerd,” he said, letting out a breathy laugh. 

Scorpius paused for a moment, and it looked like he was contemplating whether Albus had meant that as a joke or as an insult. He seemed to have decided on joke, and he gave Albus an embarrassed smile as he turned back to his empty parchment. 

“You know the point of working together is so that we can get more done,” Scorpius pointed out, and Albus had to refrain from rolling his eyes. This was like working with a male version of a slightly nicer Rose. 

“Really?” Albus responded sarcastically. “I thought it was to make this dreadful class a little bit more bearable.” 

Scorpius paused before responding.

“This is my favourite class.” 

Albus almost choked.

“Seriously? No, for real?” He asked in disbelief. 

“Yes, I think history is fascinating. I mean, look at all the spells that have been created in the last decade!”

“They’re alright.” 

“Alright? They’re wonderful! You can practically do anything you want using magic nowadays.” Scorpius said dreamily, gazing off into space. Albus desperately wanted to ask Scorpius if he had a thing for historians, but he refrained. 

“You can make your bed, comb your hair, and even tie your shoes using a simple incantation!” Scorpius continued, now incorporating in some hand gestures. Albus felt like he was watching one of those muggle infomercials that often came on TV. 

“No offence, but if I needed magic to tie my own shoes, I’d probably never show my face in public.” Albus responded, rolling his eyes. 

“That’s besides the point!” 

“Okay, okay, I guess you’re right...” Albus lied, still as eager to leave the class as he was before. Not even history nerd Scorpius Malfoy could change his opinion on this subject. 

Scorpius gave him a small smile before returning to his work. 

Albus watched him write, occasionally jotting down some answers of his own. He tried to slow down, making his letters a little bit more legible than they normally were. He couldn’t help but notice how much more relaxed Scorpius had gotten since the first time they’d worked together. 

Scorpius was currently gazing at his desk, with his chin in one hand and fancy quill in the other. The only other wizards he’d seen use peacock feathers were high level ministry workers at his father’s workplace. His father owned one too, of course, but Harry had always been more of the traditional sort, sometimes even using muggle pens. 

“Do... you need something?” Scorpius’s voice broke him out of his thoughts, and he realized he’d been staring. 

“Huh? Oh, sorry,” Albus said, turning away with a little shake of his head. “I was just... admiring your quill. It’s very nice.” 

_Way to make yourself sound smooth,_ Albus thought to himself, cringing. 

But Scorpius didn’t seem to notice, and he gave Albus a warm beam.

“Thanks! It was a Christmas gift from my father. I think he got tired of buying me books, he says I probably already own the whole bookstore. Which isn’t true, of course. One can never have too many books!” Scorpius rambled. It was something he seemed to do a lot, but Albus didn’t mind. 

“You sound like Rose.” Albus laughed. “She’s almost as big of a nerd as you, I bet you’d get along well.” 

“Maybe, if she didn’t hate my guts.” Scorpius pointed out.

“She doesn’t.”

“How do you know?”

“She’s my cousin. We usually tend to have the same opinions on people.” 

“And what exactly is your opinion?”

Albus thought for a moment. What was his opinion? 

For one, Scorpius Malfoy seemed like the polar opposite of what he’d heard. Albus didn’t think he’d ever met anyone so sweet in his life. Other than grandma Molly, of course. 

He was also a huge nerd. That much was obvious. 

Apart from that, Albus didn’t know what else to think. He couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something he should do. 

As Scorpius’s eyes met his own, he pondered what to say. He couldn’t lift his gaze, and for the first time, he couldn’t find the words to express himself, which was saying a lot considering he’d been told by many that his quick witted responses were so good that he should consider a career in magical law. 

So he settled on the truth, and shot Scorpius a small grin. The subtle, smirky kind that made his eyes flash and almost always got him what he wanted. 

“I like you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did y'all like this Albus chapter? I love him so much and I'm really surprised I didn't write about him before! Please leave a comment if you enjoyed, it really makes me wanna update more often! Currently working on the next part! :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scorpius realizes he has a bit of an obsession with Albus's eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I promised anon this was going to be a short fic, but I got really carried away so I'm sorry about that :( But hey, when it comes to fics, longer is better, am I right?? Enjoy this short chapter!

Emerald.

That was the colour of Albus Potter’s eyes. There was simply no other way to describe them, they were pure, unadulterated emeralds. They glittered and shone in the glow of the golden lights on the ceiling, sometimes appearing softer, sometimes darker. The flashes reflecting off of them emphasized their gem-like appearance. It would have been unjust if he’d been placed in a house other than Slytherin; his robes matched his eyes perfectly. Scorpius wondered if he knew. 

Albus’s eyes were emeralds, and they were beautiful. 

Of course Scorpius had seen people with green eyes before, soft, light greens that reminded him of nature on a cloudy day. Even darker, subtle bluish greens that were the colours of a deep ocean. But never any emeralds. 

There was also the fact that Albus’s hair was jet black (and a bit of a mess, but in an almost intentional, bedhead way) and contrasted intensely with his light skin, making his eyes stand out all the more in between his thick lashes. 

If Albus Potter ever decided to try using eyeliner, Scorpius had a feeling he would need to be taken to the hospital wing. He wondered if Madam Pomfrey had a cure for heart attacks. 

He tried to focus on his work (he always did), but it was a little nerve wracking while he was sitting next to Albus. 

Albus asked him questions occasionally, and Scorpius didn’t comment on the fact that some of them were topics they’d learned back in first year. Albus’s potions expertise made up for his short attention span in history. 

“How come ghosts don’t fall through the floor? They can walk through walls, so it makes no sense. If they did go through the floor, would they just keep falling? Like, through the planet? Shit, they’d be able to see the core of the earth! And it wouldn’t even hurt them, because they’re already dead!” Albus was saying. Scorpius noticed he’d only answered one out of the twelve questions on the board.

“How did we get to this conversation?” Scorpius asked, but the question was one he’d never actually thought about before. 

“I was just wondering. I thought you’d know, considering you’re a nerd and all.” Albus teased, and Scorpius laughed. 

“If I was a ghost nerd, I’d probably be able to answer your question! I would assume it’s because ghosts can float. Which means they could probably see the core of the earth if they just stopped floating.” Scorpius responded, and Albus looked intrigued. “Hogwarts should really have a ghost-physics class.” 

“If they did, I wouldn’t be here,” Albus pointed out. “You’d miss out on these intellectual conversations.”

“That would be truly unfortunate,” Scorpius grinned. 

“That sounded an awful lot like sarcasm.” Albus said, but he was smiling too. Scorpius averted his gaze back to the blackboard, hoping Albus wouldn’t be able to hear his heartbeat. No wonder Albus got what he wanted, his smile could stop traffic. 

“It wasn’t, I really do enjoy working with you,” Scorpius responded honestly, and Albus grinned even wider. 

Merlin’s beard, Scorpius thought he must have lost at least a year of his life by being around Albus, even just for a few short periods. His stomach wouldn’t seem to sit still, and it wasn’t because of the huge plate of strawberry scones he’d eaten for breakfast. 

“I get that a lot. I’m an exceptional study partner,” Albus boasted jokingly. “There must be a whole lineup of people in this class waiting to get the chance to work with me.” 

“Waiting to work with someone who’s answered one question in 45 minutes?” Scorpius teased, and Albus looked at him with mock offence. 

“I’ll have you know, history is a particularly difficult subject. I’m a genius for even answering one question,” he responded playfully, and Scorpius shook his head in wonder. 

He’d be utterly doomed if Albus kept hanging around. 

Just then, Rose Granger Weasley cleared her throat from beside him. His focus had been so faraway that he hadn’t even heard her walk over. 

“Excuse me, I’d like to speak to my cousin. Albus, a word?” She sounded slightly annoyed, but her voice had a light tone of anxiousness. Her normally bushy red hair was tamed into two plaits that she was currently fumbling with. Scorpius noticed that she was pointedly not looking at him. 

Albus looked taken aback, but he got up anyway. 

“I’ll be right back,” he whispered to Scorpius before Rose tugged him to an empty corner of the room. 

Scorpius sighed. It was obvious what they were discussing. He watched as Rose’s eyes widened at something Albus had said. He couldn’t hear their conversation, but Albus looked almost frustrated. One of his fists were clenched, and he was giving Rose an expression of disbelief. 

He knew what would happen next. Rose would undoubtedly convince Albus to stay away from him. She was probably already halfway down the list of the many unthinkable things the Malfoys had done, both to her family and Albus’s. 

He felt a pang as he realized how nice it had been, working with Albus Potter. He doubted he’d get the chance again. 

At least this way he wouldn’t have to torture himself by constantly thinking about things he’d never have. Scorpius has always been a rational thinker, but all rational thoughts left his head around Albus Potter. He wondered if Albus could tell. 

Rose looked like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her eyes were almost as wide as her jaw. 

Albus shook his head at her, and then walked back to the seat beside Scorpius, fuming. Scorpius could almost see the smoke coming out of his ears.

“Is everything okay?” He asked uncertainly. Albus wasn’t packing up his things, which gave him a ray of hope. 

“Fine. She’s just being difficult.” He said with a sigh, massaging his temple. 

“I’m-“ Scorpius started, before remembering their deal. “It was because of me, wasn’t it?”

“No,” Albus said, unable to meet his eyes.

Scorpius raised his eyebrows, and Albus winced, running a hand through his hair. He was an awful liar. 

“Sort of...” he said apologetically. 

“You don’t have to stay, you know. I don’t want to come in between you and Rose. I’ve seen you two together, it’s obvious how close you are,” Scorpius started, because he felt like it was the noble thing to do, but there was a selfish part of him that hoped Albus wouldn’t accept.

“I’m staying.” Albus’s voice was firm. “She can’t tell me who to be friends with.” 

“So we’re friends now?”

“I thought that much was obvious.” Albus quirked an eyebrow. 

“Oh.” Scorpius blushed. He was friends with _Albus Potter._ “I’d just feel awful if you two got into a fight because of me.” 

“We fight all the time, but it always works out in the end. I’m her favourite cousin, and she can’t stay away from me for long.” He gave Scorpius an almost sad smile. “Don’t worry about it, okay? It’s not your fault. Besides, now she won’t pester me for a few days.”

Scorpius let out a small laugh. He still felt a little conscious, but Albus was probably right. He and Rose were practically inseparable, despite being in different houses. He didn’t have any close relatives of his own, other than his father of course, but he knew it would be hard for Albus and Rose to stay apart for long. 

Guilt must have still been evident on his face, because Albus put a reassuring hand on his arm. Scorpius felt like he was unable to move. Not that he would, if he could. 

“Seriously, it’s fine,” Albus said softly, giving him a reassuring smile. “But since I’m sacrificing my relationship with my cousin to work with you, d’you think you could help me with number two? I don’t really know much about goblin wars.” 

Scorpius laughed as he slid his notes over to Albus. 

“Wow, I can hardly read your handwriting.” Albus mused, scrunching his nose at the parchment, and Scorpius furrowed his eyebrows at him. 

“Really? I didn’t think my writing was that bad. Sorry, I can read it to you if you want.” He said, his face contorting into one of confusion when Albus’s eyes lit up.

Albus practically jumped off his seat, pointing at Scorpius.

“You apologized!”

Scorpius groaned, and buried his face in his hands. He should have seen that coming. His handwriting was perfectly decent, and he knew it. 

“Now you’re stuck with me for the rest of the month!” Albus looked giddy. “I can’t believe you fell for that, your writing is perfect!” 

“I’m not giving my notes to you ever again,” Scorpius joked. “That was cheating!”

“Was not! We didn’t have any rules.” 

Scorpius knew Albus was right, so he didn’t say anything. He just sat there, happier than he’d been in a long time.

“Does this mean I don’t get to see that thing you were going to show me?” Scorpius pouted. 

Albus thought for a moment. 

“Stick around and maybe I’ll show you anyway.” He grinned. 

“That wasn’t part of the deal.” 

“I know. But like I said, I like you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this was a super short chapter, but I hope you liked it anyway! The next one is a little longer ;) If anyone was wondering, my tumblr is the same as my AO3, aka @gxldensnitched, so follow me for shitty hp memes lmao. Leave a comment if you enjoyed, I love reading them!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albus is a little frustrated...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I didn't intend to make this story so slow burn... forgive me :(

Rose Granger-Weasley was, without a doubt, one of the most stubborn people Albus knew. She had a good heart, of course, but she could be awfully quick to judge. 

The thing about Rose was that she always made it blatantly obvious when she didn’t like someone. Granted, it did make him laugh most of the time, but what had just happened didn’t bring even the faintest hint of a smile to his face.

_He’s a Malfoy._

_His family nearly got yours killed._

_Haven’t you heard the rumours?_

Of course he had heard the rumours. He didn’t live under a rock, as much as Rose liked to think so. He couldn’t be a student at Hogwarts without knowing what people said about the Malfoys. He had to admit, there were a few details about the Scorpius Malfoy that even he used to believe. But after meeting the blond, Albus firmly stood by the belief that he didn’t have an evil bone in his body. 

It had been embarrassingly clear that Rose was giving him a lecture, and he shot sharp glares at the few students who curiously looked their way. 

_“Shut up, Rose. You don’t know what he’s like.” He’d snapped, slightly unsure of why he was getting so defensive._

_“I don’t need to! How many times do I have to say it, Al? He’s a Malfoy!” Rose’s eyes were blazing. Her hands were on her hips, and she reminded him of his mum when he was getting scolded._

_“I think he’s wonderful.”_

_Rose had full on gaped at him right then, and he had to stop himself from making things worse and calling her a drama queen. The last thing he wanted was for her to go off on him about something else._

_“Come work with me. We’ll sit away from Polly.” Her voice was firm._

_“No.”_

_Rose sighed. “Don’t be difficult. We can sit by Arya Patil. You used to like her.”_

_“I told you, Rose. I’m going to stay. I want to work with Scorpius.”_

_“Albus...” she said, looking as if she was going to start pulling her hair out in exasperation, as he turned around and started to stalk back to his desk. “Albus!”_

_He ignored her call, and sat back down, hoping Scorpius wouldn’t notice that tiny red sparks were starting to shoot out of his wand._

But it was evident that Scorpius had known without him having to say a word. If it had been up to Albus, he would have made up something, anything. 

_Oh, she’s just upset because I wouldn’t let her copy my potions notes. She’ll get over it,_ he wanted to say. But Scorpius wasn’t an idiot. 

Oddly enough, Albus found himself wanting to keep Scorpius guarded from this. The poor boy had already been through enough, especially after the death of his mother, only two years ago. Albus had hardly seen him during third year, and he could safely say that he spent a lot more time with his own mother after hearing the news. 

Scorpius had looked like he’d accidentally kicked a pygmy puff, after his argument with Rose. Albus didn’t know how someone so innocent could feel so much guilt over such trivial things. 

He felt a hot flare of annoyance as he looked at his cousin (and ex-best friend). The least she could have done was scold him in private. Albus hated being responsible for Scorpius’s guilt. 

He’d tried to reassure him, and it seemed to work for a while, but the rest of the period passed with a slight sense of unease in the air. They both spoke less, and their comfortable conversation from earlier had died down. 

They were sitting silently, with Scorpius scratching away with his quill, a look of consciousness on his face. Albus tried to work, he really did, but he couldn’t focus on a single question for more than a few seconds. 

After ten minutes of gloomy silence, Albus got sick of the sound of quills on parchment, and turned his chair to face Scorpius.

“You’re not too upset, are you? About the Rose thing? Because it’s not a big deal. She’s just stubborn. Once she has an opinion, she sticks with it. We’ve had a bet since second year that if I could change her mind about something, she’d give me 20 galleons. I still haven’t gotten them.” 

Scorpius smiled at that, but still looked uncertain. 

“I’m not upset about that, really. I’m used to it.” He said, and Albus felt a pang in his chest. 

“It’s just...” Scorpius thought for a moment. “I don’t have any relatives. Well, at least none that are my age and actually talk to me. You and Rose are practically joined at the hip. That’s something a lot of people would die for, you know, a family like yours. I don’t want to interfere.” 

“You’re not interfering.” Albus said sharply. “She is. You don’t have to feel guilty just because she’s being a b- jerk. Okay?” 

“Okay.” Scorpius replied.

“Just okay?”

“Yeah, okay.”

“Okay.”

Then they both burst out laughing, and Professor Binns shushed them sternly. Students were starting to notice them now, and he heard hushed whispers. Scorpius seemed to hear them too, and he quickly looked down at his desk. 

Albus wanted to tell everyone to fuck off and mind their own business, but Slytherin and Gryffindor were head to head for house points, so he pushed the urge away. 

Fortunately for him, Professor Binns started to speak.

“Students, you may start packing your things.” He drawled. “If you were using this time to socialize with your peers instead of working, I suggest you complete the questions as homework. I will be collecting them tomorrow. Class dismissed.” And he promptly floated back through the blackboard. 

Albus stuffed his parchment into his bag, not caring about the wrinkles and folds that Binns would have to look at distastefully. 

He waited for Scorpius, who was carefully rolling up his parchment. 

“You don’t have to wait for me, we don’t have our next class together. I think I’d know if you were in my runes class.”

_“Merlin, you took runes?”_

“Yes, and I quite enjoy it. Are you going to call me a nerd again?” 

“It’s not my fault that you are one.” Albus grinned. “I have flying, so I’ll see you around?” 

Scorpius gave him a smile and a wave, and Albus was off. He headed down the spiral stairs leading to the lower east wing. He didn’t really need flying class (he was brilliant on a broom, if he did say so himself), but it was good practise for quidditch, and an easy way to observe the Gryffindors’ flying strategies. He was eternally grateful that Slytherins and Gryffindors shared classes, since they were they only team they’d occasionally lose against. Rose had told him it was a very _Slytherin_ thing to do to observe your opponents’ weaknesses during class. 

There was nothing Albus Potter loved more than being in the air. Whether he was racing his siblings, winning a game, or merely showing off, there was no feeling quite like flying. The only things that could touch him were the soft wind and warm rays of sun. And that canary bird he’d flown into one time when he was twelve. James still hadn’t let him live it down. 

He walked onto the bright pitch, and his friends immediately moved over to make space for him on the patch of grass. He took a seat, savouring the warmth of the sun kissed cluster of grass under his hands.

Katie Johnson was right beside him, and she spoke up before he could even say hello. 

“Is it true what Rose said?” 

Albus rolled his eyes. Of course she had told Katie. She was the only other person that Rose confided everything to.

“And what exactly did she say?” Albus asked in a bored voice, even though he had a feeling what was coming.

“You and Malfoy!”

Albus noticed Flint perk up from his other side. He started fiddling with his green tie, looking at Albus with a wicked interest. 

By now, the rest of the group was listening intently too. Yann Fredericks and his friend Jordan Botts were waiting for him to speak, while Jordan’s Hufflepuff girlfriend leaned against his shoulder. Albus could tell that she, too, was waiting for his response. 

“What about me and Malfoy?” He said finally, and he could have sworn the whole pitch went quiet. 

Flint gave the students around them a threatening glare, and then propped himself up on his elbow. 

“Rose told Katie, Albus. And Katie told Jordan, who told Emma, who told Jordan not to tell anyone else, but he obviously didn’t listen and told Yann, who told me. I still can’t believe I was the last to know.” Flint said, and Albus furrowed his brows. 

“You should know by now that none of us can keep a secret, Albus. Especially Jordan,” Emma said gently, ignoring Jordan’s sound of protest. 

“It’s not a secret. Why are you guys acting like I’m having an affair? Scorpius and I worked on homework together. Period.” 

“An affair would have been less of a shock,” Jordan pointed out, and Albus scowled at him.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“We’re just concerned,” Katie said, her dark hair blowing in the wind. “And when did you go from Malfoy to Scorpius?” 

“You don’t need to be.” He ignored her question. 

But the looks on their faces clearly showed just how much they didn’t believe him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this chapter! Albus is my new favourite character to write lol. Leave a comment or kudos if you enjoyed!! :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scorpius learns a little more about his (boy)friend's family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit of a filler bc I've been really busy lately, and I'm sorry about that. Hopefully it kinda gives you a little insight into Scorpius's nerdy brain though lmao. Enjoy! Sorry about how short it is :(

Scorpius was in the library for the fifth time that week, and it was only Tuesday. 

He curled up comfortably in a small couch near the back of the enormous room, a copy of Beedle the Bard in his hands. The window he was sitting by was cracked open slightly, letting a warm, airy breeze circulate throughout the room.

He looked around, taking in the scene of his favourite room in all of Hogwarts, and he was pleasantly relieved at the fact that hardly anyone seemed to spend their lunch breaks in there. The small ray of sun that was entering through the slightly open curtain fell just on his lap, illuminating the pages of his book perfectly. It was quiet and tranquil, which he would definitely call his favourite kind of ambience. 

He’d just started the Hopping Pot (his favourite story since he was a child) when he saw a flash of bright red out of the corner of his eye. For one nerve-wracking moment, he thought it was Rose. But the girl was much shorter, and she had Albus’s nose. 

Lily Luna Potter was animatedly chatting with a Ravenclaw girl Scorpius didn’t recognize. She sat down next to the girl and begun fumbling around in her bag, and Scorpius thought she looked like she seemed to have forgotten something. Her brows were creased, and the tone of annoyance on her face was clear. When she started to make her way over to the shelves near Scorpius’s seat, he wondered if jumping out the window was a sensible option. 

Scorpius visibly winced. There was no doubt that she’d heard by now. The whole school knew that Albus Potter had been fraternizing with the enemy. James had given him a suspicious glance in the hallway that morning, but if anyone would be angry about Albus’s new friendship, it was Lily Potter. Scorpius had never actually spoken to her, but he’d heard that she’d once gotten detention for punching a boy who told her that girls couldn’t throw a hit. Scorpius was fairly certain she’d given the poor kid a black eye. 

It was actually considered sort of legendary among students, and Scorpius admired her bravery. She really was a Gryffindor, through and through. 

She stopped abruptly when she noticed him watching her, and he hastily looked back down at his book. 

“So, is it true?” Lily asked immediately, her hands on her hips. Scorpius supposed it was a good thing that she was getting straight to the point. Her expression held a mixture of curiosity and disbelief.

Scorpius gulped. For a third year, she was a little scary. 

“Kind of?” Was his lame response. 

“Rose told me that you and my brother are friends now.”

Was there anyone Rose hadn’t told? 

Scorpius cleared his throat. 

“Well, yes, we are. I think. That’s what he said. I haven’t spoken to him since Friday. Not that I don’t want to or anything, I just have absolutely no idea where he is.”

Lily raised her eyebrows. “Oh, he does that sometimes. Once he went a whole week without speaking to me. He claimed he was busy with quidditch practice, but really he was sulking because mum and dad got me a new broom instead of him. As if he didn’t already have a perfectly decent one.” 

Scorpius looked at her in surprise as he took in her casual tone. This hadn’t been remotely close to the conversation that he had anticipated, for which he was grateful. He didn’t know what he’d have done if she had actually gone with the conversation he’d come up with in his head. 

Lily seemed to be thinking along the same lines, because she quickly changed the subject.

“Anyway, I just came to grab a book. I didn’t know if the rumours were true.” 

“The ones about me being a Death Eater or the ones about Albus and I?” Scorpius asked, hoping for the latter.

Lily laughed, and a Ravenclaw perfect shushed her. She rolled her brown eyes (Scorpius had recently learned that Albus was the only one who’d inherited his father’s startling green) and brought her focus back to him. 

“Albus, of course. I was a little worried at first,” she admitted, staring at the floor and fiddling with the ink stained sleeves of her robes. “But I guess you don’t seem that bad.”

Scorpius breathed a sigh of relief. “I’ll take that as a compliment. Thanks for not thinking I’m evil, I guess?” 

She laughed again, and he gave her a smile. 

“I don’t think a real Death Eater would read children’s fairy tales,” she said, glancing at his book.

“Beedle the Bard is a classic!” Scorpius said in mock offence. “You haven’t lived if you haven’t read it.” 

“If you insist,” she said, and grabbed a copy of it from the shelf beside him. “I came to get a textbook, but this is probably a lot more interesting. See you later.” She waved as she headed back to her friend. 

Scorpius reopened his book with a sense of pleasant satisfaction. At least there was one other person in Hogwarts who seemed to approve of him. He was a little worried about what James would think, if he was really the overprotective brother he claimed to be. The approval of Albus’s (huge) family would be a good start towards whatever strange friendship it was that was going on between them. 

He made a mental note to tell Albus that he’d never met such an intimidating thirteen year old. The next time he saw Albus, that was. He’d been gone all weekend. Scorpius hadn’t even seen him in their dormitories, or in any classes on Monday. 

It worried him, as much as he tried not to think about it. There was a possibility Albus had changed his mind and decided Rose was right. But the thought of Albus’s soft face when he voiced his concern quickly pushed that idea out of his head. He was probably just busy. 

He tried to focus on the book, but he couldn’t shake what Lily had told him out of his head. What if Albus chose to ignore _him_ for a week, too? 

_Albus isn’t like that,_ he thought to himself. _What reason does he have to dislike me? Other than my ancestors working for the wizard who’d tried to kill his dad, of course._

Scorpius sighed as more and more students started to enter the library. The only person who disliked this more than himself was probably Madam Pince, their hawk eyed, white haired librarian. It was rumoured that she could spot couples snogging behind bookshelves from across the room. The romance section was a particularly popular spot, and Scorpius avoided it at all costs. Romance books weren’t really his thing, and even if they were, the only person Scorpius wanted to snog preferred to be surrounded by goalposts rather than novels. 

_What a tragedy, _he thought to himself as he checked out a few books, most of which he’d already read, and headed back to the Slytherin dungeons to finish up some homework before his next class.__

__At least that’s why he told himself he was going, because it most certainly had nothing to do with hoping to get a glimpse of a certain green eyed boy._ _

__He would have to learn to stop doing this to himself at some point._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I truly apologize for the lack of Albus in this chapter, I miss him too :( But I've started writing the next one and I promise it's super fluffyyyy!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albus needs to learn to be more careful...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'ALL I DIDN'T MEAN TO TAKE THIS LONG JKZBSDCJSB

The first word that came to mind when Albus saw the hospital wing was white. 

White walls, white curtains, white bedsheets. It was just plain white. The only splashes of colour were from the potions and various other magical entities that lined the wooden shelves along the walls. 

Being in there alone was somewhat depressing, and Albus winced as Madam Pomfrey removed the thick bandages that were slung around his left arm. 

“Your friend came by to visit you a few times. I told him to come back later, you were completely out of it.” Madam Pomfrey said as she gave up on using her hands, simply spelling the bandages off. 

“Which friend?” Albus asked hopefully, before groaning in pain as Madam Pomfrey rubbed a healing potion on the giant gash that had formed on his arm. The potion stung, and he imagined that was how it would have felt if someone poured pure lemon juice into his cut.

 _“Oh, fuck! Ow, ow, ow,”_ he moaned, completely disregarding who was fixing his arm. 

“Language, Mr Potter!” Madam Pomfrey said dubiously, as she cast another enchantment to dull the pain. 

Albus let out an unintelligible sound, and slumped back onto the pillows. His arm was throbbing, and he could feel the sheen of sweat on his forehead. 

“A Slytherin,” Madam Pomfrey said, answering his earlier question, and Albus perked up. “Flint Goldstein, I believe.”

Albus’s heart sank. Not quite the Slytherin he’d been hoping for. 

“You could have just woken me up,” Albus said, still desperate for company. 

“I don’t bother sleeping students, Mr Potter. Especially not ones who’ve sliced their arm open on wooden stands. Your brother tried to convince me not to inform your parents. I wasn’t sure if it was so he could escape a scolding for not keeping an eye on you or so that your flying privileges wouldn’t be removed.”

“I didn’t mean to slice my arm open, I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Yes, that much is clear. You really are just like your father.” She gave him a stern but fond look and a sympathetic glance at his arm before moving a few beds down, where an older boy seemed to have been hit with a bat bogey hex. 

It wasn’t Albus’s fault the snitch had decided to veer off the pitch and into the stands during a Sunday evening game of inter-house quidditch. He almost had it, and if the corner of the commentary stands hadn’t been in his way, there was no doubt that he’d have caught it. 

He was flying, and the snitch was close. It was so close. He could almost feel the breeze of the shimmery gold ball’s tiny wings on his outreached hand. 

The next thing he felt wasn’t the cool metal of the snitch, but a searing pain in his left arm. 

He thought he’d heard a girl shriek, but he didn’t know why until he looked down and saw the blood that was pouring down his left arm. There was a gaping gash from his shoulder to his elbow, and for a moment, he didn’t know what was going on. 

He thought he felt a strong pair of arms around his waist, and Flint was swearing like a sailor. Katie sounded like she was crying, and Yann had gone to summon Rose. Of course he believed she’d know what to do. It wasn’t like Albus was bleeding to death, or anything. 

The last thing he remembered was asking Flint if he’d caught the snitch. 

Then he woke up, and here he was. 

Suddenly, there was a knock on the wooden hospital wing door. Albus started to get up, but went right back down as a white hot pain shot up his arm. 

“I told you to lie still!” Madam Pomfrey scolded him, hurriedly rushing past while wiping her hands on the front of her robe. 

The door opened, and Albus was too tired to crane his neck and see who it was. He just wanted to sleep, for a very long time. 

“Good afternoon, Madam Pomfrey. I’m here to bring Albus his potions notes.” 

Albus shot right back up at Scorpius Malfoy’s voice, ignoring his exhaustion and swearing at the sudden pain in his arm. He grimaced, and slowly shifted himself up with his good side until he was leaning against the pillows at the head of his hospital bed. 

“Son of a fucking- _oh, Merlin. Ouch._ ” Albus gasped, trying to keep a straight face, which was proving to be a challenging task. 

“Wow.” Scorpius was now standing at the foot of his bed, gaping at his giant sling, which was fortunately clear of blood. If Scorpius has seen him when he arrived, Albus thought he would have passed out. 

“Ow, fuck, sorry. My arm... just fucking hurts.” Albus said, unable to push the grimace away. 

“Are you okay?” Scorpius’s concerned voice was nearly enough to distract him. 

“Yeah, I’m- _fuck!_ ” He couldn’t help it. His shoulder was throbbing with the sheer effort of trying to hold the weight of his arm up. 

“Albus, lie back down.”

“No, it’s okay,” Albus groaned unconvincingly. 

“Lie down, Albus! I mean it!” Scorpius said, louder than Albus had ever heard him speak before. He was so shocked that he obeyed, sinking back onto the fluffy pillows and letting his arm relax on his stomach. 

He moaned again, and Scorpius looked worried. Despite the pain, this gave Albus a strange sense of joy. Scorpius Malfoy was worried about him. 

“I didn’t know you had such a foul mouth. You must have traumatized the first year sitting a few beds down. She’ll probably have nightmares until summer break. Do you need some water? Or pumpkin juice? I have a chocolate frog, too.” Scorpius asked, pulling a purple box out of his front pocket. Albus noticed it was a habit of his to carry candy wherever he went. 

“It’s okay, slicing myself open usually makes me lose my appetite. Madam Pomfrey says I should be okay by tonight.”

“Thank Merlin! You weren’t in class yesterday, I was worried! I thought-” Scorpius trailed off, and Albus raised his eyebrow, one of the few body movements he could make that wouldn’t cause him to cry out in pain. 

“You thought what?” Albus asked curiously. 

“I don’t know, it sounds stupid when I say it out loud, but- I thought you were avoiding me.” 

Albus let out a breathy laugh. Scorpius really did worry about the most trivial things. It was kind of cute, in Albus’s opinion. Scorpius’s anxious personality contrasted to his own so much that Albus wondered how on earth they’d even become friends in the first place.

“Why the hell would I be avoiding you? You’re the only person in this school who doesn’t annoy me.” Albus said, as he tried to reach for a water bottle.

“I don’t know, Lily said you avoided her for a week once.” Scorpius said, grabbing the water bottle and handing it to Albus. He took it with his working arm, and drank a small sip. 

“I had a good reason for that. And when did you talk to my baby sister?” He asked, grinning. 

“She’s hardly a baby! I’m surprised she didn’t hex me.” Scorpius blushed. “I ran into her at the library. And you might want to slow down with the water.” 

“Yeah, she tends to have that effect on people.” Albus mused nonchalantly, lifting the bottle to take another sip. 

A mouthful of water splashed over the the bottom of his face as he moved the bottle upwards too quickly in his inconvenient horizontal position. He spluttered, reaching for a tissue on his bedside table. He almost could have sworn Scorpius was trying to hold back laughter.

“Very funny.” Albus pouted, wiping the sides of his face.

“I- I wasn’t laughing,” Scorpius protested, but he was pointedly refusing to remove his hand from his mouth. 

Albus stared at him until Scorpius laughed out loud, and he couldn’t help but do the same.

“I always thought you’d be the type of person who would immediately help me if I fell down the stairs, but I’m starting to change my mind.” Albus teased.

“Of course I would help you!”

“Yeah, after you finish laughing at my distress.”

“Maybe. Unless you were actually hurt, of course.” Scorpius added, and he sounded so genuine that Albus just had to give him a fond smile. They’d only known each other for a few short days, but it felt like they’d been friends forever. 

Despite knowing virtually nothing about Scorpius Malfoy (besides his uncontrollable sweet tooth), he still seemed like the most genuine, kind person that Albus had ever met, which was saying quite a lot, especially considering the amount of people Albus knew at Hogwarts.

“Your pillow’s wet,” Scorpius pointed out, snapping him from his reverie, and pulled out his wand. He daintily performed a drying spell, and Albus let out a soft sigh, biting his lip as he leaned into the newly warm pillow. 

Scorpius was staring at him, and Albus couldn’t make out the expression on his face. 

“What are you thinking about?” Albus asked, unable to help himself. He was usually good at reading faces, but then again, when had he ever been able to predict the behaviour of Scorpius Malfoy? He supposed it was easier to just ask. 

“You, obviously,” Scorpius said quietly. “When I heard Rose tell Slughorn that you were in the hospital wing, I almost had a heart attack. I know you Potters have a knack for injuring yourselves, but this was the first time you’d missed potions class.” 

“You- you noticed that?” Albus asked, his mouth parted slightly. “We didn’t even sit on the same side of the room until last week!”

“The lack of your presence is kind of noticeable. Your squad is a lot quieter without you, did you know?” 

“No, I didn’t.”

Scorpius was looking at him the way his mum would look at his dad after a particularly terrifying mission. His dad was the head of the auror department, so he had to deal with quite a few near death experiences. But Albus knew his father wouldn’t give up his job for anything; there was nothing Harry loved more than saving lives. It was one of the many things Albus admired about him, even though he knew he’d never be that brave. 

“I’m okay,” Albus said softly. “And I wasn’t avoiding you. I’ve had quidditch practise for most of the weekend, and, well, you know why I didn’t come to class.” 

He glanced at his temporarily useless arm, frowning. “It’s just a cut, I think I might be able to come back to the dorms today.”

Scorpius’s face relaxed, and Albus took a good look at him for the first time since he’d woken up. Scorpius looked more tired than usual, and the bags under his eyes were prominent. He looked as if he hadn’t slept, and Albus felt a bubble of worry grow in the pit of his stomach. 

“You look exhausted.” Albus turned his body slightly, waiting for the spike of pain. When it didn’t come, he turned his neck fully, facing Scorpius. The medication seemed to be working.

“Oh, do I? I’ve had a load of homework lately.” Scorpius muttered, not meeting his eyes. He was fiddling with the sleeves of his robes, and Albus knew he wasn’t getting the full story. 

“Right,” Albus responded uncertainly. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine, don’t worry.” Scorpius shot him a smile. 

Albus almost believed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is that a tiny hint of angst I sense? Dw though, I love these boys too much to put them through pain ;) And holy crap I just realized I was supposed to be capitalizing Quidditch the whole time. I hate myself lmao, sorry J.K Rowling...


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which an extremely concerned Albus learns a thing or two about comforting people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise this isn't real angst y'all. I just needed a tiny problem to get the story flowing ;)

Sure enough, Albus had been able to leave the hospital wing that evening. Flint and Jordan had come to pick him up, and they were holding him from either side as he walked down the hall. James had insisted, of course, but Lily had pointed out that he wasn’t even allowed into the Slytherin common room. He had to remind them all multiple times that his legs were perfectly fine, but he was grateful for their support nonetheless. 

He was stopped in the halls more than usual that night, as students gaped at the sling on his hand, asking for a tale that they probably expected to be more heroic. 

In any other circumstances, Albus probably would have cooked something up for them. A story that would leave the boys staring at him in respectful admiration and the girls in awe. 

But he was exhausted, and after retelling the pathetic tale of how he’d crashed into the quidditch stands to the second group of Hufflepuffs that day, Flint refused to let him stop for anyone else. He’d even snapped at Polly Chapman, who had come out of her dorm to see what all the fuss was about.

“Albus? What on earth-“ she’d started, her blonde hair pulled up into a ponytail. She’d been wearing the same hairstyle since they dated. 

“He’s fine,” Jordan had answered, still holding onto his good arm. Flint was currently ushering the crowd of young Slytherins aside so that they could head into their room. 

“What happened?” Polly asked, following the three boys to the entrance of the boys dormitories. 

“Quidditch accident,” Albus muttered awkwardly. 

“How?” She demanded. “Are you okay?”

“Merlin, Chapman, he’s fine! Madam Pomfrey wouldn’t have let him leave if he wasn’t!” Flint said sharply, ushering him into the dorms. 

“You’re a little scary at times, did you know that?” Albus asked him quietly, and Flint sighed. 

“I get that a lot. I don’t see it, though.” 

Jordan rolled his eyes in disbelief, and Albus grinned. Flint was the only person he knew who was more sarcastic than himself. 

He found himself glancing into Scorpius’s slightly open dorm room as they passed the hall to his own. Albus had no idea who Scorpius shared a room with, but for the first time since coming to Hogwarts, he desperately wished Scorpius had been placed in his own.

He plopped down on the bed as soon as he got inside, not even bothering to change out of the robes he’d been wearing all day. 

“Katie wanted to come in and see you,” Flint said, giving Albus a glance. 

“We’ve snuck her into the Slytherin common room before.”

“We thought you’d need space.” Came Jordan’s voice from his bed across. 

“Thanks guys.” Albus said gratefully, closing his eyes. “Really. You’ve been a big help.”

Jordan smiled at him through the curly hair he was trying (and failing) to tame.

Flint, on the other hand, said “You’re not going to confess your feelings for us now, are you?”

Albus threw a pillow at him. 

-

He couldn’t sleep that night. The discomfort of his sling and the nagging worry about Scorpius kept him tossing and turning until until the early hours of dawn, which was around the time he gave up and went downstairs to sit by the glowing green fireplace in the common room. 

He’d always enjoyed the green fire. It was unique; all the other houses had boring yellow. He supposed this was sensible for Hufflepuff, but he knew for a fact that Gryffindor and Ravenclaw didn’t have matching fires. He often pointed this out when he was arguing with his siblings about which house was superior. 

The couch he was sitting on seemed like one you’d see in a fancy loft, but it was he most comfortable seat he’d ever felt. He ran his hands along the dark green, velvety cushions, making patterns in the fabric. 

The thought of Scorpius was still at the forefront of his mind as he continued to trace. Scorpius had looked... drained. The usual light in his eyes seemed to be put out. There was no other way to describe it. Albus knew it couldn’t have been work, since they had almost all their classes together and OWLs weren’t for another few months. Scorpius did seem like the type of person who’d start studying months in advance (Rose encouraged him to do so as well), but it didn’t quite fit. 

For a short moment, Albus wondered if Scorpius had been worried about him. That was a perfectly good reason, in his opinion. If someone Albus cared about was in the hospital wing, he’d practically be tearing his hair out. 

But that didn’t seem right, either. Even kind Scorpius Malfoy wouldn’t lose sleep over someone he’d only just met. Albus’s stomach sank as he crossed off all the reasons that may have been contributing to Scorpius’s change in mood. None of them made complete sense. 

He watched the merpeople for a while; they rarely came up to the giant glass window at the end of the common room during the daytime. Albus had never understood how a creature so utterly terrifying could be so shy. 

He was debating going down to the kitchens to beg the house elves for an early cup of coffee when Scorpius appeared on the staircase leading from the dorms to the common room. 

Albus stood up immediately, and Scorpius looked surprised to see him there. He must have expected the common room to be empty at six a.m. 

Scorpius’s face seemed to brighten for a moment, but it was gone as soon as it came. He looked just as tired as he did before, if not a little worse. Albus had never seen Scorpius’s hair so out of place before. 

“Albus,” he started, looking around warily. “You’re never up this early.”

“I couldn’t sleep,” he said, sitting back down, and when Scorpius looked at him in concern, he added “My arm hurt.”

“Is it okay now?” Scorpius brought his eyes to the sling, which was almost unnecessary at this point.

“Yeah, I’d remove it, but Madam Pomfrey would probably have me expelled.” 

Scorpius let out a small laugh, but it didn’t quite meet his eyes. They almost looked bloodshot, and Albus desperately wanted to ask him what was wrong. 

“Do you always wake up this early?” He asked, trying his hardest not to push him. The last thing he wanted was for Scorpius to get tensed up. 

“Sometimes. I don’t think I’ve slept in past nine since I was a toddler.” 

Normally, Albus would have teased him about that. He was good at teasing. In fact, he excelled at it. But comforting someone was something he wasn’t used to. He’d never once had to do it by himself before. 

When one of his friends were in a bad mood, they’d all go out to Hogsmeade. 

When Rose was worried, he and Hugo would crack jokes until she laughed, however long it took. 

James hardly ever got upset, but if he did, they’d all go flying. 

When it was Lily or Hugo, everyone brought sweets and pastries. No wonder they adored being the youngest siblings. 

But this wasn’t Rose. Or his siblings, or cousins, or even one of his regular friends. 

This was Scorpius, and Albus had absolutely no idea what to do. Fortunately, Scorpius made the first move, sitting down on the velvety couch beside him so that they were only about half a foot apart. 

“I couldn’t really sleep either, so I guess that makes two of us,” he gave Albus a sad smile, and Albus had to physically restrain himself from pulling him into a hug. Instead, he scooted over so that their legs were only a hair’s width away from touching. Scorpius’s eyes widened, and they looked even more alluring up close. 

Albus made a point of telling him so. Maybe he was a sucker for compliments.

“Has anyone ever told you how pretty your eyes are?” He asked, and Scorpius turned scarlet red, making Albus grin. 

“Nope, never heard that one. Unless my mum counts,” he muttered quietly, and his face seemed to fall at the mention of his mother.

“Well, they are. Really pretty. You have thunderstorm eyes.” Albus continued, feeling a sense of relief when the corners of Scorpius’s mouth turned up. 

“Now that’s something I’ve never heard before.” He spoke thoughtfully, and gave Albus the first real smile he’d seen all day. “But thank you, although my eyes are quite ordinary compared to yours.” 

“I would tell you how many people have asked me if I wear coloured contacts, but I don’t think I can count that high,” Albus joked, making Scorpius laugh. This cheering up thing seemed to be easier than he’d expected. He just hoped it would last. 

“They look too real to be contacts,” Scorpius mused. “They’re like emeralds.”

“Probably why I was put in Slytherin.”

“I’m not so sure the Sorting Hat takes eye colours into account,” Scorpius said, and Albus noticed the old twinkle in his eyes was starting to return. 

“Maybe the Hat knew I’d look hotter in Slytherin green.” He joked. 

“I can’t argue with that.” Scorpius laughed, the blush on his cheeks never fading.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I'm trying to update more often... don't hate me lmao


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All I can say is poor Scorpius...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so someone requested angst but I had no idea how to incorporate angst into this fluffy fic so I hope this'll do? I mean it's pretty sad if you think about it. I pre-wrote the next few chapters and don't worry guys, I'll make sure they're happy :)

Scorpius didn’t know if he’d be able to attend potions class, especially with his new emerald eyed partner, just pretending that there was nothing going on. 

Albus would say something, Scorpius knew he would. Albus noticed things, and as much as Scorpius appreciated that, he didn’t know if he’d be able to handle it today. For the first time, he wished the butterflies in his stomach every time Albus so much as looked in his direction were the only things he had to deal with. 

He sighed, and wondered if the headache trick would work again. Slughorn was quite gullible, and Madam Pomfrey never turned a student away. 

The only other time he’d skipped class intentionally was in fourth year, on the same day as today. 

He sighed, staring into his red rimmed eyes in the mirror. He wished his skin wasn’t so pale, it only made the darkness under his eyes even more obvious. At least the washroom was empty, and he was grateful for that. 

The thought of Albus calling him - _no, his eyes_ \- pretty, cheered him up a little bit. He couldn’t really see the appeal, especially when his eyes were bloodshot, and the thought disappeared almost as soon as it had come. Maybe Albus was just trying to be nice, but he’d seemed genuine enough. 

He wondered if his mother would approve of him skipping class. He supposed so; the only thing she’d ever wanted was for him to be happy, and he usually was. He took joy in life’s simple pleasures: butterbeer on a snowy day, the taste of scones in the morning, books with happy endings. He’d always tried to be positive, to see the best in things, no matter what. It worked well for him, on most days of the year. 

But a positive mindset wasn’t always easy to maintain, especially when it was your dead mother’s birthday. 

The thought of her made his heart ache again. He splashed cold water on his face, hoping by some miracle that it would wash the ache away. 

It didn’t, and he stared into the mirror, watching the water droplets that were running down his face, paler than usual. He supposed it didn’t matter, anyway. 

His father had talked to him about seeing a mind healer, when it happened in third year. Muggles called them therapists. 

But he’d never felt the need. He didn’t know if he’d ever want to talk to a complete stranger about why he was upset. It seemed pointless, and he’d probably walk out of St. Mungo’s exactly the same as he was when he entered. 

He’d never been good at talking about his feelings. He always did his best to act like he was okay, during the months after her death. It became easy enough after a while. His father looked like he had enough on his plate, and Scorpius worried about him often. He knew his father worried about him too, which was why he always put on a smile. 

Scorpius knew he’d be receiving a letter from his father shortly. He always wrote on her birthday. A long, lengthy letter that voiced his concerns and asked if Scorpius wanted to come home for a few days. It was evident in the letters that Draco was trying to keep his own feelings hidden, probably for Scorpius’s sake, but he knew better. Sometimes Scorpius wished he could tell his father that _he_ needed a mind healer, although Draco Malfoy was more likely to move to a remote location and become a sheep herder than to talk about his feelings. 

He wiped his face on his sleeve with a sigh, and supposed he should at least tell Slughorn that wouldn’t be attending because of a headache. Like Albus, he’d never missed a potions class.

He walked to the dungeons quietly, taking his time. He took the long way, which had a lot more twists and turns, but it was a lot better when it came to avoiding people. It wasn’t like there was anywhere he had to be, anyway. 

He was about to push open the heavy, wooden door when he heard Slughorn’s voice. He sounded like he was having a conversation, so Scorpius paused, leaning on the wall to wait. If he slowed down his breathing, he could just barely make out what Slughorn was saying. 

“You have considered my offer, haven’t you?” Slughorn’s distant voice floated through the bottom of the door. 

Scorpius moved slightly closer to the door, feeling a little bit guilty. If the conversation had really been private, Slughorn would have had it in the comfort of his office. 

“Yeah, sort of,” came another doubtful sounding voice. 

Scorpius’s eyes widened as he realized who Slughorn was talking to. _Of course it was Albus Potter,_ the one person in the school who’d ask him what was up. Of all the students he could have run into... he didn’t know if he’d be able to answer. 

Scorpius debated leaving, but he had walked ten minutes to get there. He decided to give Albus the headache excuse as well, hoping he’d believe him. If he did, Scorpius could safely enter the quiet of the dorms, and if he didn’t, well, Scorpius would figure something out. 

“My boy, you have a real knack for potion making. I firmly believe that you’d excel with my advanced potions students.” Slughorn said, and Scorpius’s jaw dropped slightly. He hadn’t known just how good at potions Albus really was. 

“Thanks, Professor. I think maybe I will. I suppose my parents would be pretty pleased that I’m doing well in a class other than flying.” Albus responded, and Scorpius couldn’t help but smile a little. 

Slughorn laughed, a deep, hearty sound, and he heard footsteps coming closer to the door. He quickly moved a few feet away. 

“I’ll look forward to seeing you, then,” Slughorn was saying, and the door swung open. 

Albus hadn’t noticed him, and was about to head back down the opposite way. 

_Don’t turn around, don’t turn around..._

And he didn’t. But to Scorpius’s frustration, Slughorn did, and loudly decided to announce his presence. 

“Mr Malfoy!” Slughorn boomed, and Albus whipped around. “Is there something you need? I believe class doesn’t start for another half hour.” 

Albus gave him a wave, which he returned it with what he hoped was just as much enthusiasm. 

“I’ll wait for you,” Albus mouthed, leaning against a metal knight, looking prepared to do just that. 

“You- you really don’t have to...” 

“I don’t mind.” Albus was now fiddling with the knight’s sword as it looked down at him distastefully. 

Scorpius nodded with a sigh of disappointment. He never thought there’d come a time where he didn’t want to face Albus Potter. 

He stood near the large entrance to the potions classroom, shifting his weight on both feet. Slughorn was looking at him patiently. 

“I don’t think I’ll be able to attend class today, sir. I’m not feeling all too well. My head, it... hurts,” he finished lamely, and he wanted to hex himself. 

“Why, you’ve come to the right place! No need to visit the hospital wing when a simple pepper-up potion ought to do the trick.” 

“No, it’s-“ he said, starting to get frustrated. “I just don’t feel that well. I really don’t think I’d be able to put in my best effort today.” 

Slughorn seemed to sense something was wrong, and his expression faltered. His thoughtful eyes surveyed Scorpius’s, and he was grateful that he’d never taken the opportunity to skip class before. 

“If it’s unbearable, you really should speak to Madam Pomfrey. That woman works wonders,” Slughorn said gently. “Take this, in case it comes in handy.”

He grabbed a small vial of pepper-up potion off a nearby shelf, and Scorpius sagged in relief. 

“Thank you, Professor. I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

Slughorn gave him an encouraging wave, as he exited the classroom. Scorpius noticed he’d forgotten to close the door behind him, which meant Albus had probably heard every word of the conversation. 

Albus was looking at him curiously.

“You’re abandoning your new potions partner?” He pouted, and Scorpius resisted the urge to point out that he had a perfectly good reason.

“Not abandoning, exactly. Besides, what does someone who got offered a spot in advanced potions need from me? You could do perfectly fine on your own. Congratulations, by the way.” 

“Thanks.” Albus beamed at him, and he tried to reciprocate. It didn’t seem to work, because Albus’s smile faltered. 

“Is your head okay?” He asked. “Is that why you haven’t been sleeping?” 

“I- yeah, kind of.” Scorpius gave him his most convincing grimace. 

“That must be awful. You should see Madam Pomfrey. I’ve never heard of someone having a headache for more than an hour.” Albus looked genuinely perplexed. 

“Yeah, I will,” Scorpius lied. “I was actually just heading there right now, so I should probably go.” 

“Oh, I’ll walk you there!” 

“I really don’t want to inconvenience you...” 

“It’s okay, I should probably thank Madam Pomfrey for fixing up my arm so quickly, anyway.” 

“Oh. Right.” Scorpius knew it was pointless to argue, and he let a frustrated sigh slip out before he could stop himself. 

Albus was looking at him oddly. He immediately tried to compose his face back into a neutral position, but he knew it was probably too late. Albus was no doubt thinking he was up to something.

Albus didn’t speak, but Scorpius saw his expression shift from confused to slightly disappointed. 

“You can tell me if you don’t want me to stay, you know.” Albus’s eyes were gentle, and the look of concern on his face was almost too much for Scorpius. “Seriously, I don’t mind. I should probably be catching up on Divination work anyway.” 

“I want you.” Scorpius replied firmly, without missing a beat. “I do, it’s just- not a very good time.” 

He didn’t realize what exactly he’d said until he saw the look of bewilderment (or was it astonishment?) on Albus’s face. For the first time, he thought he could see a pink tinge on Albus’s cheeks. 

Scorpius’s stomach sank. There was no way of coming back from that. Albus looked speechless too, but he seemed to regain his composure quicker than Scorpius did. 

“Merlin, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-“ Scorpius started quickly, wondering where the Hogwarts trap floors were when you needed them.

“It’s okay,” Albus said quietly. “Let me take you to the hospital wing? I’ll shut up the whole way there, I promise.” 

Scorpius felt himself nod, and Albus put a soft hand on his arm, right above his elbow. He desperately wanted to sink into the touch, but instead he let Albus lead him down the hallway, past the grounds, and up the flights of stairs, and it felt good. 

True to his word, Albus didn’t utter a sound, but it was hard to miss the worried glances he kept sending Scorpius out of the corner of his eye. Under any other circumstances, this would have elated him. 

After what felt like an hour, they reached the front of the hospital wing, and Albus stayed outside while Madam Pomfrey searched for a headache soothing potion. Scorpius was certain he’d still be there when he went back out. 

_If only she had a potion for heartaches,_ Scorpius thought to himself. If he ever became a potions master, it’d be the first thing on his list of concoctions to invent, followed closely by a potion that could make any drink taste like butterbeer. 

He thanked Madam Pomfrey and placed the glass vial in his pocket, right next to the pepper-up. 

Albus appeared to be in deep thought when he walked out of the room. His brows were furrowed and he was tapping his shoe on the floor quietly, a small frown on his face. Scorpius mentally moved the butterbeer potion down a spot, and decided the second thing he’d try come up with would be a potion that would allow the drinker to read minds. 

Albus Potter was still here, with him. 

Why?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sis;fksjf;skjf I'm sorry I have't posted in a whole week, I've been so busy with my summer job. But since I have the next chapter written, you won't have to wait so long! I really hope you're enjoying this fic as much as I like writing it!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albus basically has no idea how to deal with feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I planned out the whole rest of the fic and I think y'all will like it ;) Also, when I was writing this bit I realized Albus was supposed to be popular which I almost forgot about bc I was so focused on Scorbus?? So anyway, this chapter has one of his many friends.

_I want you._

Albus couldn’t get the phrase out of his mind. He knew Scorpius was referring to him staying, of course, but he couldn’t help but let curiosity get the best of him, despite knowing it would do him no good. 

Nothing anyone ever said to him before had ever affected him quite as much as that sentence had. He was grateful he’d promised Scorpius not to speak, and he was lost in thought the whole walk to the hospital wing. 

Three words, eight letters. They could have meant nothing at all, or everything in the world. The perplexing thing was that Albus didn’t even know which he’d have preferred. 

“Class starts in a few minutes,” Scorpius said tentatively, speaking for the first time since they’d returned from the hospital wing. Albus was almost surprised to hear his voice, and he snapped up at the sound. 

They were sitting in the a shared armchair by the fireplace in the common room. The walk back had been silent, and Albus could have sliced through the obvious tension in the air.

“Oh, right.” He glanced at the clock. He had ten minutes to get to the potions room. “I can stay with you, if you want?” 

“ _Absolutely not!_ I won’t allow you to skip class for me, Albus!” Scorpius replied immediately. “You just got offered a spot in advanced potions!” 

“If I’m good enough to be in advanced potions, skipping one class shouldn’t hurt.” 

“Albus, no. You are not sacrificing your education for me. I mean it.” 

Albus almost wanted to laugh at how serious Scorpius was, but the situation didn’t seem right. 

“How exactly are you going to stop me?” He asked curiously, looking at Scorpius with intrigue. 

“I- I’ll- uh...” 

Albus raised an eyebrow, and Scorpius sighed in defeat. 

“I don’t know,” he said, running a frustrated hand through his hair. “I guess I can’t stop you. But please, Al. I’m not sure why you’re doing all of this in the first place, anyway. You hardly know me. I mean, we only met a week ago. That’s a good enough timespan to get to know someone, I guess, but we haven’t even hung out besides in classes.” 

“What?” 

“I said we haven’t even hung out besides-“ 

“No, before that,” he interrupted. 

“We only met a week ago?” 

“Not that. You just-“ Albus fiddled with his fingers. “You called me Al. This is the first time you’ve done that.” 

Scorpius froze, and immediately looked away. The tension that had disappeared for one joyful minute had returned, and Albus regretted pointing out the familiar nickname. 

All of his friends and family called him Al, it wasn’t something he minded the slightest. In fact, he couldn’t remember the last time James or Lily had called him Albus. 

But oddly enough, hearing Scorpius say it made his heart lurch. It sounded different, coming from him. Softer, more delicate. Almost as if the word wasn’t just the shortened version of his name, but actually meant something. 

Scorpius opened his mouth, presumably to apologize _again,_ but Albus spoke before he could. 

“It’s okay, I like being called Al. It’s one less syllable to pronounce. You can save an entire half second of time, calling me Al.” He gave Scorpius what he hoped was an encouraging smile. It seemed to work, and Scorpius’s tense shoulders visibly relaxed. 

“Okay, Al. You should probably get to potions.” The corners of Scorpius’s mouth turned up slightly, but Albus wouldn’t have called it a Smile. Perhaps an attempt at one. 

“I’ll stay with you.” He protested. 

“No.”

“Yes.”

“ _Albus_.” Scorpius’s voice was almost a whine. 

“You mean Al?” 

“Al, go to class.” Scorpius blushed, looking as if he was prepared to all but shove Albus out of the common room. He probably would have, too, if Albus hadn’t gotten up right then. 

“Alright,” Albus reluctantly gave in with a sigh, noting how persistent Scorpius looked. “If you insist...” 

The relief on Scorpius’s face was evident, and Albus couldn’t quite make out why that bothered him so much. Being unwanted wasn’t something he was accustomed to. 

He shook the thought out of his head as he walked down the hall towards the potions classroom. It wasn’t that. It couldn’t be, not after what Scorpius had blurted out.

I want you. 

Did he really, though? Albus couldn’t get his mind off the events of the past few days; he was so distracted that when Jordan put three spoons of leech juice into their shrinking solution instead of two, he didn’t even spare him a glance. 

“Oh, damn, that doesn’t look right,” Jordan muttered, rubbing his chin in obvious bewilderment. 

“What? Oh.” Albus took one look at their potion, an almost bubbly greyish blue in colour, and then at the image in their textbook, which was acid green. “Jordan, what the hell did you do?” 

“Nothing!” Jordan spluttered defensively. “I just added the leech juice!”

“How much?” 

“Three spoons.” 

Albus groaned, picking up their cauldron, which was now giving off a putrid smell, and walked over to the waste disposal. Trying to fix it would take so much time that it was easier to just start over. 

Jordan followed him, having the decency to look sheepish. 

“The word three doesn’t even remotely resemble the word two, Jordan.” Albus said, lowering his voice to a whisper as Slughorn gave him a taken aback look. It was the first time he’d messed up a potion all year, and it just had to be after he got offered an advanced placement. He furrowed his brows in frustration. 

“I know, I screwed up, I’m sorry.” Jordan was looking anywhere but at Albus. “But in my defence, you usually notice when I’m about to fuck up.” 

It was true. Potions had never been Jordan’s strong suit, but Albus had (with great difficulty) managed to help him get his grade from an A to an E over the last few months. 

“What are you thinking about?” Jordan asked curiously as they gathered another set of ingredients. They were the only ones in the potions cupboard, but Jordan’s voice was quiet. 

“The shrinking solution that we have to remake.” Albus joked, but his heart really wasn’t in it. 

Jordan laughed, and didn’t comment any further, for which Albus was grateful. 

He couldn’t tell anyone. His friends would think he was out of his mind. Even Jordan, the nicest Slytherin he knew (he often joked that he should have been placed in Hufflepuff), would probably think there was something wrong with him. 

Because he shouldn’t be this concerned about someone he hardly knew. And a Malfoy, at that. It didn’t make any comprehensible sense. People would start to talk if word got around, and Albus had always gotten enough attention as it was. 

“Albussssss,” Jordan said in a sing-song voice, waving a black leech in front of his face. 

“Eugh!” He yelled, hastily stepping out of the way. “You’re dripping leech juice on the floor!” 

Jordan seemed to find this amusing, and he laughed out loud when Albus scowled at him. 

“Aw, someone’s a little grumpy today,” said Jordan, setting the leech into a jar, where it was attempting to slide up the glass to no avail. Albus took his gaze away from the slimy, squirming leech and met Jordan’s eyes. He mentally took back what he’d thought about Jordan being the nice one. 

“I’m not grumpy,” he said grumpily. 

“I can tell when you’re grumpy. You make that face.” 

“What face?”

Jordan formed his features into an obnoxious looking pout, sticking out his lips and furrowing his brows. The kind of look that little kids would put on when their parents refused to buy them candy. 

“First of all, I do _not_ make that face.” Albus said indignantly. “Second... why do you even know that?” 

Jordan laughed loudly, and Albus couldn’t help but grin slightly at how big of an idiot his friend was.

“I’ve been hanging out with you since first year, so spill.” He said, taking a seat and crossing his arms expectantly.

“You say you can tell when I’m upset, but how exactly?” Albus asked after a moment. 

“Your face just looks different.”

“Really helpful, Jordan...” Albus rolled his eyes. Their conversation seemed so far like it wouldn’t help him in the slightest.

“You’re always distracted. You don’t pay attention.”

“Are we playing Point Out Flaws now?” Albus muttered, shuffling his feet. Jordan was right, and they both knew it. 

Jordan sighed. “Albus, I can just tell. It’s a sense.” 

“Like, a sixth sense?”

“Precisely.” 

Now they were getting somewhere. 

“Can you ever tell... why I’m upset? At least an idea?” 

Jordan pondered the question for a moment before replying. 

“Not exactly,” he said, and disappointment must have been clear on Albus’s face, because he immediately added “but I know you well enough to be able to guess. Like when you fight with Rose, for example. You’re less energetic than usual, and you look a little disheartened in every class you share with her. You keep shooting her glances, like you want her to se you, but she doesn’t turn around. So you sort of pout and sulk for the remainder of the class.” 

“Fucking hell. That’s a little creepy, you know. Do you stalk everyone, or am I special?” Albus asked incredulously, but the fact that he noticed all of this was a little touching. 

“People I care about, I guess.” Jordan shrugged nonchalantly. 

“That’s why you know the names of all of Emma’s ex-boyfriends?” Albus teased, and Jordan’s cheeks darkened as he threw a quill at him.

They worked comfortably for the rest of the period, and Albus thought about what he’d just learned. Scorpius didn’t seem to be glancing at anyone during any of the classes they shared. Or pouting. Or making that face, which Albus firmly believed he had never once done. 

“Jordan?” He started, without even knowing what he wanted to ask. 

“M-hmm?” 

“What would you do if someone was avoiding you? Someone who’s normally ecstatic to see you?” His heart pounded, and Jordan immediately looked up at him, a small frown starting to form on his face. 

“Who’s avoiding you?” 

“It’s hypothetical.” Albus lied. 

“No, it isn’t. But I’ll answer anyway, because now I’m concerned. What kind of someone?” He raised a brow, looking at Albus expectantly. 

“Emma. What would you do if she was upset about something and refused to tell you?” 

Jordan’s eyes widened. “Emma? My _girlfriend,_ Emma? Are you interested in someone, Al?” 

“No! I said it was hypothetical!” Albus said, a little too quickly. Jordan had now put all of his supplies down and his complete focus was on their conversation. 

“It’s not hypothetical anymore! I thought it was a friend problem, but it’s clearly a romance problem! No wonder you look like you woke up on the wrong side of the bed.” He was giving Albus an incredulous look, as if he couldn’t believe that they were actually having this conversation. It was a little bit frustrating. 

“Never mind,” Albus almost snapped. “I’ll figure something out.” 

Jordan sighed, and placed both his hands on Albus’s shoulders, turning him around so that they were facing each other. 

“Look, I’m not an expert or anything, but Emma loves all things sweet. I bring her a bagful of Honeydukes treats, and it may not be enough sometimes, but it’s something. I consider it a victory if I can make her smile even once.”

Albus locked his gaze, looking up at his friend. And overwhelming surge of sadness washed over him like a wave, and he knew he had to do something. 

“Thank you,” he said quietly.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scorpius comes to a conclusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so bad at summaries, I apologize. Oh well. And holy crap I just realized this literally the shortest chapter I've ever written. Does this even count as a chapter?? I'll post the next one within the next two or three days bc this is literally like a couple of paragraphs. I thought it was long when I was writing it, but I guess not? Lmao my brain cells are dying cause of work, don't blame me.

Scorpius enjoyed sitting in the empty common room. The only sounds he could hear were the soft crackling of the dim fireplace and the occasional scuffles from the hall outside. It reminded him of being in his library back at the manor, and the thought pulled at his heartstrings. It was nice, not having to worry about people scowling at you for just existing. 

He didn’t know how long he’d been sitting there. It could have been a few minutes, but it felt much longer. The noise outside was gradually increasing, signalling the end of their daily classes, and he knew people would be coming in soon. With a sigh, Scorpius decided he should probably move to his room. His dorm mates usually tended to avoid him, which fortunately meant that they were never back in the room until late after sunset. Scorpius had no idea where they usually spent their time, but he knew it wasn’t in the library. He doubted either of them had even touched a book intentionally. 

He almost wanted to stay downstairs and wait. He couldn’t quite place his finger on what it would be for. Maybe it was a who rather than a what, not that he’d ever admit it to himself. 

He allowed himself to wonder what Albus would say in potions class the following day. He couldn’t see any harm in letting his thoughts roam. Scorpius desperately hoped Albus hadn’t paid close mind to his slip up outside the potions room earlier that afternoon, because that would inevitably end in an uncomfortably long year. 

Albus was probably used to people slipping up around him, anyway. Scorpius couldn’t comprehend how anyone was able to speak so comfortably to him when he looked at you like _that_. 

Scorpius let himself savour the thought that maybe Albus didn’t look at everyone like _that._ It was a fleeting hope, but he held on to it all the same. It was a small ray of light in his otherwise wearisome life. 

Thinking about Albus made him almost completely forget about the reason he’d avoided class in the first place. Albus was a particularly good distraction, even when he was merely a thought in his head. 

He almost wanted to leave the common room that instant and go find him. Granted, he’d probably be surrounded by a gaggle of students, but Scorpius had gotten him alone before. It baffled Scorpius that Albus, oddly enough, didn’t even seem to mind being away from his friends. It was encouraging, yet confusing all at once. Confusing, mainly. Albus Potter, most admired Slytherin in the school, willingly taking time away from whatever fun it was that he had with his friends, just to spend time with him. He couldn’t really see the appeal, especially not for someone like Albus, who adventure seemed to follow wherever he went. 

He opened the drawer by his bedside, pulling out the photo frame his parents had given him before he left for Hogwarts. In it, his infant self was being held by his mother, who seemed to radiate light right through the photo. Even his father, normally so composed, had a small smile on his face as he gazed into the camera, one hand around Astoria’s waist. As for himself, he was beaming and holding a small, velvet stuffed dragon. He’d always assumed it was a Norwegian ridgeback, although he highly doubted they had happy smiles on their snouts like his stuffed one did. The picture induced a strong sense of nostalgia, and he wondered what Astoria would have said, had she still been here. 

She would have wanted him to be happy. And he was, wasn’t he? 

No, that wasn’t the word. Sweet tea and a good book made him content, but he supposed it was different from happiness. 

Contentment... being in a sense of peaceful satisfaction. That he was, most of the time. He didn’t mind the way his life was, and there was certainly nothing he’d change about it, as much as he felt like he wanted to sometimes. Everything that had ever happened to him was what made him who he was, and changing anything about his life would feel like losing a part of himself. 

But happiness was different. He supposed it was relative to each individual, but he tried to think of things that worked for him. Did curling up in bed with a steaming hot cup of tea and a book make him happy? He was sure of it. Getting an assignment back with an O on it? He supposed. The giddy excitement of boarding the Hogwarts Express every fall? He would have assumed so. 

But none of that compared to the way his heart would leap when Albus beamed at him. Or the way he’d feel a pleasant shock on his skin where Albus had touched him; it was electrifying, but in a good way. Or the amount of pure affection he’d feel when Albus looked at him in concern. 

That was what it felt like to be happy and Scorpius knew what he had to do if he wanted to live in that feeling. It was what Astoria would have wanted for him, and most of all, it was what he wanted. It didn’t matter if Albus didn’t feel the same, just being around him was enough. 

He looked longingly at his mother’s smiling face one more time, then put the photograph away and rushed out the door. 

He didn’t know where he was going, he didn’t know where Albus’s last class had been, and he didn’t know what Albus would say when he showed up. If he was even able to locate him, that was. But he had to try. 

He turned a corner, and immediately bumped into Jordan Botts, one of Albus’s friends. Jordan stepped back, surveying him. Scorpius wasn’t sure if he should ask him; Jordan probably didn’t even acknowledge his existence before today. But Jordan spoke first. 

“Is Albus with you?” 

Scorpius’s heart sank. Jordan obviously didn’t know where he was. 

“No, I was going to go look for him...” he said, almost out of breath, and Jordan’s dark eyes widened. He looked like he’d just discovered some shocking revelation. It almost would have been funny if Scorpius wasn’t so keen on finding Albus. 

“Merlin... it can’t be.” Jordan was muttering to himself. “Oh, _fuck_. I don’t believe this. No. _Way_.” 

“Er, pardon?” Scorpius had no idea what was going on, but he was pleasantly surprised that Albus’s friend hadn’t hexed him on the spot. 

“Merlin’s beard. You have to go find him, immediately.” Jordan said with a slight undertone of hysteria. “Ask around, he’s hard to miss.” 

“Oh- okay?” 

Jordan had already taken off before he could say anything else. Scorpius took a moment to wonder what had him so worked up, but he had more important things to worry about. 

Step one: find Albus. 

Step two... well, he supposed he would figure it out when the time came.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to say thank you guys so much for all the sweet comments you've been leaving so far, they seriously make my day and I don't even know what I did to deserve them??? Thank you sm for reading this fic!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chocolate is always the answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter could hardly be classified as a chapter, so here :)

Albus burst into Honeydukes, pink faced and slightly out of breath. He took a second to lean against the wall, feeling a rush of gratitude for the sweet shop being almost empty. 

It normally would have been so packed with hungry, sugar craving students that he’d hardly have enough space to take more than a few steps. He’d almost sprinted to Hogsmeade as soon as class ended, not even bothering to spare a glance at the people who were giving him odd looks in the hallways. 

He was used to looks of all kinds, but the ones he’d gotten recently were quite new. They held a hint of apprehension, and not the kind he’d see in the eyes of classmates who would regularly make obvious attempts to inquire about his dating life. Speaking of which, at this point, had been virtually nonexistent for far too long. He’d been so busy with Quidditch season (and the piles of classwork on his desk that were just begging to be completed) that he didn’t even have time to flirt, yet alone date. He found that he didn’t mind as much as he would have expected to. 

Albus decided it would take ten minutes at the very least before the store started to slowly fill up with hungry teenagers desperate for their daily dose of chocolate, so he decided he could spare a few minutes to browse. 

It wasn’t until he’d circled around the entire vicinity twice that he realized he had absolutely no clue what Scorpius liked. 

He didn’t know much about Scorpius at all, but he took comfort in the fact that Scorpius carried sweets with him wherever he went, which meant he’d probably appreciate anything from Honeydukes that wouldn’t bite his nose off. He wondered what Scorpius’s dentist thought about his sweet tooth, before remembering that Scorpius probably didn’t even know what a dentist was. 

“Looking for something, dear?” 

Albus jumped at the voice, and turned to face an elderly looking witch. Her hat was long, crooked, and oddly feathery. Her wispy white hair was short and curled around her face. She gave him a pleasant smile, and he immediately thought of Grandma Molly. 

He must have looked as lost as he felt. 

“Oh, sort of. I need a gift,” he muttered awkwardly, shuffling to the side in case he was blocking the acid pops the woman was eyeing. 

“I would assume so, you look nervous.” The woman spoke softly, grabbing an acid pop. “It looks like someone needs some cheering up.”

Albus bit his lip, wondering why she’d even bothered to engage in conversation with him. She was giving him an almost knowing look, as her frail hands reached for candy after candy. Albus wondered if it was healthy for the elderly to consume so much sugar. 

“Something like that, I guess,” he mused, eventually deciding there was no harm in confiding in an old woman. “They’re upset, but not at me. At least, I hope it’s not at me.” He trailed off at the end, hoping he didn’t look too pathetic. 

The woman gave him a sympathetic look through her horn rimmed spectacles. 

“Good luck with that, dear” she said, starting to head over to the young wizard at the front desk. “Might I suggest one of Honeydukes’ _Engorious_ sweets? Biggest is always better when it comes to candy.” She piled her enormous bag of sweets on the counter, and Albus marvelled at how someone who looked like she was at least eighty could carry all of that. 

_Scorpius is going to be exactly like her when he’s old,_ Albus thought to himself, suppressing a grin.

She smiled at him as she exited, and Albus pondered over the giant display case that showcased quaffle sized cockroach clusters. He was positive that eating candied bugs wouldn’t cheer anyone up, so he didn’t spare them a glance. He’d only tried cockroach clusters once, when he was seven years old and James had tricked him into thinking it was a limited edition chocolate sugar quill. He shuddered at the horrific memory. His boggart had been a giant cockroach for at least a year after the incident. 

Trying to shake the thought of insects out of his mind, he eventually decided on a giant chocolate frog that was relatively the size of his head. The purple container it was sealed in was enormous, and he hadn’t known just how heavy chocolate could be. 

The cashier glanced at him curiously, and it was obvious that the wizard was wondering what in Merlin’s name the Chosen One’s son was doing with an enormous chocolate frog. 

He dropped a handful of coins on the desk, and quickly left the shop, as the cashier looked like he was about to ask questions. 

As he walked back to the castle, he hoped Scorpius was doing better than he was before. Albus didn’t know what was going on, but seeing him like that had hurt more than it should have. 

It was obviously because Scorpius was his friend. Of course he cared about his friends, all of them. _Equally._ He tried to ignore the fact that he’d never bought giant candy for anyone else before. 

He had just reached Hogwarts’ giant, wooden doors when he heard the voice of the one person he’d been trying desperately to avoid for the past few days. 

Rose was walking out the doors with Polly Chapman, a wide grin on her face as she listened intently to something Polly was saying. 

Albus wasn’t usually one to hide, but now he desperately wished the bush beside him would branch out and swallow him up. He actually debated scurrying away, but Rose had already looked in his direction. 

If they hadn’t made eye contact, he’d have pretended he’d never seen her. 

“Albus!” She called out his name, and he stopped in his tracks. A young Ravenclaw had to swerve to avoid bumping into him. Polly stood awkwardly beside Rose, fiddling with her golden charm bracelet. He vaguely remembered complimenting it at some point when they dated. 

“Rose, Polly... hey.” He said awkwardly, trying to avoid meeting Polly’s eyes at any costs. 

“Hi, Albus.” Polly’s voice was quiet. She looked almost hopeful, and Albus winced, hoping she wouldn’t take this as an invitation. 

“You’ve been avoiding me.” Rose raised her eyebrows. 

_Way to point out the obvious,_ Albus thought to himself, trying to refrain himself from rolling his eyes. 

He wanted to ask her whose fault that was, but what came out of his mouth was “I was busy.”

“You’re a terrible liar and we both know it,” Rose pointed out, looking tired. Her shoulders were slumped, and her hair was a frizzy mess. She looked almost as depressed as he felt, and there was no trace of the wide smile she’d worn earlier.

Polly stood awkwardly by Rose’s side, now twirling the edge of her blonde ponytail. 

“Fine, Rose. I was avoiding you. Is that what you want to hear?” 

“ _Yes, thank you!_ I would simply like to know what I’ve done wrong.” Rose said, hands on hips. It was the pose she took on when she was about to start a lecture. It was almost scary how much she resembled Aunt Hermione. “Honestly, if this is about your new friend...”

“You know what? It is,” Albus snapped, and Polly perked up. He ignored the fact that she was hanging on to every word of the conversation. “You won’t even give him a chance, Rose! He hasn’t done anything to you, or anyone else at this damn school!” 

He didn’t even realize that his voice was getting progressively louder until he noticed that they were starting to gather a small crowd. Students were starting to whisper, and he looked around, wishing for the first time since boarding the train that he could just disappear. He mentally cursed whoever created the rule that deemed Apparating on school grounds was unsafe. 

“ _Lower your voice, Albus._ People are staring,” Rose hissed, pulling him into the castle. Polly followed suit, and it was hard to keep himself from telling her to mind her own business. 

“Forgive me for being concerned about you, Albus. Really, I’m sorry.” Rose’s hands were folded, and she was looking at him as if he was a child throwing a temper tantrum. It was infuriating. 

“You. Don’t. _Need to be_.” Albus didn’t think he’d ever sounded so menacing in his life. Rose seemed to notice, because she raised her eyebrows in what appeared to be incredulousness. Albus willed himself not to storm off, not knowing if he’d be able to stand being treated like even more of a child.

“What has gotten into you? Ever since you started hanging out with him, you’ve hardly spoken to me! And now you’re acting like I’m the problem!” 

Albus didn’t think he’d ever seen Rose this bewildered before. She was looking at him differently, like she didn’t know him. Like they hadn’t spent the first fifteen years of their lives practically joined at the hip. 

“I’m not acting like anything! And technically, _you’re_ the one who stopped talking to me!” 

“That’s not true!” 

Before he could try and think up a witty comeback, Polly intervened, sparing him the trouble. 

“This isn’t getting you two anywhere! It seems to me like you miss each other.” She said shrilly, and Albus rolled his eyes at her advice. Polly was an only child, and she didn’t have any relatives remotely close to her age. 

“Miss each other?” He tried to scoff, but it came out sounding desperately pathetic. Rose glanced at him, and then back at Polly. 

“Polly, would you mind giving us a moment?” She asked quietly, and Polly nodded in slight reluctance, presumably upset at not being able to see how the drama went down, and she headed back out of the main entrance, disappearing behind the stoke wall. It was a relief to see her go. 

She sighed and turned back to face him, and he stared at the stone tiles on the floor, wondering if he’d be able to burn a hole through the ground by gazing it it too hard. 

“Albus.” Her voice was soft., and it her sudden change in demeanour put him off slightly. “Look at me.” 

He did. 

“I- I really didn’t mean to offend you,” she said quietly. “I just... don’t understand.”

“What is there to understand, Rose? Everyone has their own friends.” 

“Yes, but until a few days ago, _we had the same friends,_ ” Rose pointed out, and it was a valid point. Albus knew it would be hard to argue with her; she was too logical. 

“Not all of them,” he started. “You have Polly. Now I have Scorpius. It’s really not that big of a deal.” He rubbed his temples with his free hand, setting down the Honeydukes’s bag. Rose glanced at it, as if she’d just now realized he was carrying a pound of chocolate. 

“You... _have_ Scorpius? May I point out that you hardly know him?” Rose asked incredulously, and Albus was starting to get more and more irritated by the second. 

She seemed to realize this, and attempted to backtrack. 

“I didn’t mean it like that,” she said quickly. “I just don’t want you to get hurt. You’re my best friend, Albus. You haven’t been around lately and it sucks, okay? I’m sorry for snapping at you, I am. I’m just... not used to this.” 

“Oh, come off it. Are you _jealous_ , or something?” Albus said sarcastically, raising his eyebrows. 

“ _Jealous?_ You're ridiculous,” Rose said immediately, giving him an exaggerated look of offence. 

She had responded too quickly. 

“Wait a second. _You actually are!_ ” Albus said, a grin starting to make its way into his face. A laugh burst out of him, and he had no idea where it came from. This wasn’t at all what he’d expected to hear from her. 

“No, I’m not!”

“Rose! You’re an awful liar!” He was laughing even harder now, and the sight of him made Rose crack up too. Within a minute, they were both crying of laughter, and Rose had the decency to look embarrassed. 

“I’m not admitting anything.” Rose wiped her eyes, straightening up and trying to regain her composure. Albus realized he’d missed laughing with her more than he’d ever admit. 

“Aww, Rosie,” he teased, in the sing song voice that always got in her nerves. “It’s okay. Do you really think I'd ditch my favourite cousin? Who else could I copy Charms notes from?” 

“ _Shut up_ , you jerk,” she replied, but they both knew there was no venom in her voice. “I’m never letting you see my notes again.” 

“Yes you will,” Albus raised a brow at her, and she rolled her eyes. "You just admitted that you missed me."

“I haven’t done anything of the sort. Now if you’ll excuse me, your ex-girlfriend is waiting for me outside.” She huffed, giving him a fond smile. “I promise I’ll leave your new boyfriend alone, however. Only as long as you stop being so infuriating.” 

“That’s impossible and you know it,” he joked, making her laugh. 

“You’re right about that.” She grinned, and before he could respond, she pulled him into a hug. His eyes widened at the sudden embrace, but he welcomed it all the same. 

“Don’t expect this often, I’m just in a strangely good mood.” She said, and he grinned, pulling away. 

“Oh, come on. You know you love me.” He teased, putting on his most obnoxious pout. 

“That I do. I’ll see you around, Al.” She gave him a quick wave, and practically skipped out the door. 

He stood there for a moment, watching as Polly immediately scurried up to Rose, undoubtedly asking her for all the details. But even Polly Chapman was far from bringing down his elation, and he walked towards the Slytherin dorms with a newfound spring in his step.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is there such a thing as too much slow burn??? I literally hate myself lmao, I can't help it. Anyway, I never really understood why Rose was so rude in Cursed Child, so uh this is my headcanon :) Albus and Rose are my brotp okay, fight me


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically just chocolate and rule breaking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi wow I did not expect this to be so soft aw. Look who's updating faster?? Y'all should be proud, it's been only 5 (I think) days since the last chapter :)))

The last thing Scorpius expected to see when he walked into his dorm room later that night, slightly crestfallen from his unsuccessful search, was Albus Potter sitting on his bed, holding a giant bag of Honeydukes sweets. 

Scorpius almost thought he’d have been less surprised if he’d walked in on his roommates hosting a tea party. 

His eyes widened as Albus immediately jumped off the bed, giving him a tentative smile. 

“How- how did you know where my room was?” Scorpius gaped at him. It was a completely welcome surprise of course, but it was difficult to adjust. Albus was in his room. _On his bed._

“We’ve been in the same house for years, I know where everyone’s room is,” Albus raised a brow, as if this was obvious information. “I figured this one was your bed, seeing as the other two look like they haven’t been made since first year.” 

Scorpius just stared at him, unable to keep the disbelieving look off his face. The person he’d been hoping to find had apparently been looking for him too. The thought made something flutter inside him. Albus didn’t seem to acknowledge the fact that Scorpius likely looked like he’d been hit with a stunning spell. 

“Anyway, I have a delivery for you. A delicious one.” Albus handed him the heavy bag, a glint of apprehension in his emerald eyes. 

“A delivery?” Scorpius asked, slightly astonished. It felt like Albus had just handed him a brick, and he peeked inside, getting an eyeful of royal purple and glistening gold.

“It’s a headache cure. Approved by healers all over the nation.” Albus grinned, crossing his arms in apparent satisfaction. “You have to share though, I’m starving after lugging that thing all the way from Hogsmeade.” 

Scorpius suddenly felt overwhelmed with an emotion he couldn’t quite place his finger on. It was a foreign feeling, something he’d never felt before. 

It was bittersweet. Melancholy, but brimming with happiness all at once. 

And after the tiresome events and draining memories of the past few days, he really couldn’t help but tear up a little. 

_Of all the occasions his body could have picked to betray him..._

Albus’s confident smile disappeared immediately, and he seemed to be at a loss for words. Scorpius supposed he should be proud that he’d been the only one in all of Hogwarts who had rendered Albus speechless on more than one occasion. 

Albus furrowed his brows, and he was suddenly standing right in front of Scorpius, a hand on his shoulder.

“Shit, are you okay? I thought you liked chocolate, you do, don’t you? Fuck, I-“ Albus was wincing, and Scorpius wanted to tell him it wasn’t his fault that he was an emotional mess. But the words got lost on their way to his mouth, and instead, he just stared at the boy in front of him, desperately wishing he didn’t immediately go into incompetent statue mode whenever Albus was around. 

“Of course, I- I love chocolate...” Scorpius said quickly, and the choked up sound of his voice only seemed to distress Albus further, the polar opposite of what he intended. 

“Oh, okay,” Albus said, but there was clearly no relief in his voice. “I don’t understand, did I do something?”

“No!” Scorpius said hastily, and Albus looked more bewildered than Scorpius had ever seen him. His eyes were wide and his mouth was slightly open, and it almost looked like there was something he wanted to say but didn’t know how to word it. It was a familiar feeling; Scorpius knew it well. 

Albus moved closer, and now both of his hands were on Scorpius’s shoulders. He found his grey eyes gazing into concerned green ones, and then Albus’s hands were on his cheeks. 

Scorpius immediately forgot how to breathe. He didn’t speak, he didn’t move, he just kept staring. And probably still crying, although he could hardly register whether there were actually tears running down his face or not. 

“You’ll be okay,” Albus was saying quietly, now making little circles on cheeks with his thumbs, and Scorpius realized this was the first time he’d really believed that phrase. Up until now, it was just really only something people would say when they wanted to get reassurance out of the way and move on with their lives. Those words had always been something that meant nothing, but that had changed. 

Because now, Albus was the one saying those words, so of course they meant something. 

His brain was screaming at him to move, to do anything besides standing there and gaping at Albus, and Scorpius wanted to listen. But he couldn’t, and he hated it. 

Scorpius was almost sure he looked more composed than he had before (at this point he didn’t even know why he’d been so upset in the first place), but Albus’s hands were still on either side of his face, and his thumbs were now moving softly back and forth. It was the most wonderful thing Scorpius had ever felt. If he could have spelled Albus to stay right where he was and keep touching him like that forever, he would have. 

But Albus removed his hands, and the cold rushed back up to Scorpius’s cheeks where Albus’s fingers had been. He could still feel the ghost of the caress, and his heart sank. But Albus seemed to have his mind set on something, and he grabbed Scorpius’s hand with a determined look on his face.

Before he knew it, he was being pulled out of his room and into another. This one was messier than his, but there was one bed in the corner that looked like someone had put some effort into making it. Scorpius guessed it was Flint Goldstein’s. 

Albus had let go of his hand, unfortunately. He hadn’t said a word, and was now rummaging through his trunk, digging in all the way to the bottom. After a few minutes, he pulled out a shimmery cloak and a ragged piece of parchment. 

Scorpius didn’t know what to say, and he wondered if the cloak meant that Albus was going to leave. But the cloak, glistening from every angle, didn’t seem like something that could be worn while traveling. It looked more like a giant, silky blanket. It reminded him of looking up late at night and seeing the stars, so tiny that they were merely specks in the sky. 

“You know that thing I promised I’d show you?” Albus’s voice was soft, as if he expected Scorpius to have another emotional breakdown. 

After a minute, Scorpius found his voice again. 

“That’s... that’s a very nice cloak?” 

“I know. Close your eyes.” Albus said, a small smile starting to grow on his face. 

Scorpius hadn’t shut his eyes for even a second before Albus told him to open them again. 

He did a double take when Albus was nowhere to be seen. He couldn’t have left the room, Scorpius would have heard the footsteps on the stone floor. Even Albus Potter couldn’t be that sneaky. Scorpius wondered if he’d learned to apparate, but he knew that it wasn’t possible to apparate in and out of the castle. The only way he could have possible vanished into thin air was if-

 _“You- you have an invisibility cloak?”_ Scorpius asked, jaw dropping in awe. 

When Albus pulled the cloak off himself, slowly appearing in view a little at a time, Scorpius nearly forgot about the events of the last five minutes. 

Albus draped the cloak around his own shoulders so that he was just a floating head, and grinned at him. It was disorienting, to say the least, and Scorpius couldn’t stop staring. 

Albus laughed at what was probably the look of utter shock on Scorpius’s face, and he threw the cloak to him. 

Scorpius marvelled at just how soft the cloak was. It was so light, it felt like it would blow off at the slightest wind. It was the silkiest thing he’d ever felt, and that was saying something, considering all of his nightclothes were made of fine silk. His father had an obsession with silk clothes, so they were really all he got on Christmas. Other than books, of course. 

After Scorpius had finished trying it on, and Albus had finished watching him like he was a child examining a new toy, Albus spoke again. 

“I know a place you’d like.” He said, throwing the invisibility cloak over both of their heads. It _just_ covered both of their feet, if they stood tightly pressed together. 

“It’s almost curfew,” Scorpius pointed out, starting to feel more like himself than he had in a long time. 

“Why do you think I’m bringing the cloak?” 

“What if someone hears us?”

“No one will.” Albus sounded so confident that Scorpius was almost ready to leave with him right then and there. 

Almost. 

“How do you know? There are always people patrolling the halls. Prefects, head boys and girls, not to mention the professors. Oh, we’d get so many points taken away, Albus!” 

“And that brings me to the next thing I wanted to show you,” Albus said, holding up the old piece of parchment. _“I solemnly swear that I’m up to no good.”_

“Wandering around after hours makes that kind of obvi-“ Scorpius started, but his words were cut off as he saw the delicate designs materializing on the piece of parchment. 

“This is how I sneak out without getting caught,” Albus whispered, handing him what appeared to be a map of Hogwarts. But it wasn’t an ordinary map, and Scorpius revelled at the names that were moving avidly all around the castle. 

_“Albus, this is incredible!_ Where on earth did you get it?” 

“My grandfather helped create it while he was at Hogwarts, and my dad passed it down.” He watched Scorpius marvel at the map. “I have to share it with James and Lily, unfortunately. The cloak too. Good thing it’s my turn this week. You ready?” 

“No, not in the slightest.” Scorpius sniffed, just remembering that he’d been crying. “Can we bring the chocolate?” 

Albus beamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like Scorpius is probably worse than Hermione at rule breaking tbh, good thing he has Albus to show him the ropes and spark a little rebellion lmao


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sneaking out proves to be a little difficult.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY I SWEAR IM ALMOST DONE NOW DKSJHDJK

Sneaking out with Scorpius had proven to be much more difficult than Albus had anticipated. He was positive he could have reached the astronomy tower in less than half as much time if he was alone. 

Scorpius had stepped on his feet at least five times, and despite that, they hadn’t been through more than two hallways. 

Climbing the staircase was especially difficult when there were two people, one of which was an inch taller than the other, and both of which were teenage boys. 

Albus vaguely remembered having multiple inches of extra cloth dragging against the floor when he used the cloak with Rose during first year. That tradition had been broken immediately after their first rendezvous, after Rose declared that having fun wasn’t worth losing house points. Albus had called her a boring old nerd (his insults weren’t the most creative back then), but she wouldn’t budge. 

_“Sorry!”_ Scorpius’s whisper was a sharp slice through the silence, and Albus put a finger to his lips. Not all the paintings could be trusted not to report suspicious activity, he knew from experience. Scorpius nodded, and they attempted to move up the steps at the same time. Scorpius nearly slipped. Twice. It was enough to give Albus several minor heart attacks. 

He would have to train Scorpius to get a little bit better at the whole rule breaking concept; there was no doubt it would take at least a few months. But Albus found he was perfectly fine with it, because it meant he could spend more time teasing Scorpius, which was a feat that Scorpius made all too easy. 

If he could get paid for teasing someone, Albus surely thought he’d be drowning in galleons in just an hour of hanging out with Scorpius.

After what felt like half a day, they managed to get up one of the moving staircases. Scorpius was looking around anxiously, as if he was expecting Nearly Headless Nick to pop out of the walls and yell “BOO”. Albus had to roll his eyes in amusement. 

He checked the map, and the coast was clear. The hallway they were in was devoid of students and teachers, so Albus slipped the cloak off of them. He did a quick check, making sure there weren’t any portraits around that could report them. He’d had one too many close calls because of knights and kings who tried to do the noble thing and tell the Headmistress that an invisible presence was suspected to be haunting the hallways. Not that he’d ever tell Scorpius that, of course. There was no need to worry him, although it would have been quite hilarious. Scorpius would probably pass out if he knew they could get caught, and the time it took them to climb the staircases would have been for nothing. 

Scorpius let out what sounded like a yelp as the cloak slid smoothly off of him, and Albus raised his eyebrows at him, holding back a laugh. 

“Are you sure no one’s coming?” He whispered, glancing around. 

Albus handed him the map. “The coast is clear, see? You can relax, you know. This isn’t my first time sneaking out.”

“That’s supposed to be reassuring?”

“Obviously. I’ve never been caught,” he responded slyly, folding the cloak in half and throwing it over his shoulder. “Have you ever broken a single rule in your life?” 

“When I was younger, I’d sleep at nine thirty sometimes.” Scorpius responded thoughtfully. 

“...Okay?”

“Well, my mum explicitly stated that I wasn’t to stay up past nine.” Scorpius explained. “I always felt really guilty about it afterwards.” 

Albus covered his mouth with his hand in a failed attempt to stifle his laughter, and Scorpius cracked a smile too. Albus didn’t need to look at him to know that he was blushing. 

Only Scorpius Malfoy could say something like that in complete seriousness, he thought to himself, wondering what the odds were that he’d become so fond of someone like him. He was the type of person who Albus wouldn’t have even spared a glance at, until now. He was almost too kind, and it didn’t make sense. Not after everything that had happened to him. It was intriguing, to say the least, and Albus could easily feel himself being pulled in further and further into the mystery that came in the form of the grey eyed, white-blond boy beside him. 

Albus found himself wanting to be the one to solve that mystery. 

“Wow, you were a real rebel, weren’t you?” He whispered, as they walked down the empty hall. It was completely dark except for the dim light coming from the occasional torches on the wall. He hoped Scorpius wasn’t afraid of the dark. 

“I tried, but rebellion just isn’t for me, I guess.” Scorpius laughed, and Albus was glad that his mood had improved so drastically since what had happened down in the dorms. 

“Where are we going?” Scorpius asked, and Albus grinned, knowing that curiosity was clawing away at him. If it was lighter outside, Scorpius could have easily figured it out a long time ago.

“Somewhere in the castle,” was Albus’s vague response.

“Well, I would assume so.”

“Somewhere private.”

“You’re starting to seem like a psychopath.” Scorpius responded, making him laugh. “Are you sure you’re not going to murder me?”

“Scorpius, if I was going to murder you, I would at least bring my wand with me.” 

“Well, that’s reassuring.” 

Albus shoved Scorpius with his shoulder lightly in amusement, and Scorpius grinned at him. His eyes were still slightly red rimmed, but he looked a lot brighter than he had an hour ago. Scorpius seemed to have forgotten what happened (or maybe he was just pretending for Albus’s sake), but Albus couldn’t brush it off. He hadn’t ever seen him so upset before, and it caught him completely off guard. He couldn’t stop wondering what had gotten Scorpius so worked up, and the question replayed over and over in his head, while another part of him came up with wild theories as to what the answer could have been. So far, unfortunately, none of them had been plausible. 

Albus wasn’t about to push it, because there was no way he’d be able to handle seeing Scorpius in that state again, especially twice in the same day. So he kept his mouth shut, and continued to do what he was best at: talking. 

When they finally reached the door leading to the spiral staircase, Scorpius whipped around to face him.

“The astronomy tower? We’re not allowed to be in there without a supervisor!”

“Well, we’re not allowed to be out past curfew either,” Albus pointed out, with what he hoped was a casual shrug. 

“Still...” Scorpius trailed off, still looking slightly unsure. 

Albus sighed. “If we get caught, which I assure you we won’t, I swear I’ll take all the blame, okay?”

“I wouldn’t make you do that.” 

“Loyalty is a Hufflepuff trait, are you sure the Hat put you in the right house?” Albus teased, and Scorpius shook his head in slight disbelief. 

“And bravery is a Gryffindor trait, yet here you are, sneaking out after hours.”

“I... okay, you’ve got me.” 

Scorpius grinned, looking pleased with himself. Almost immediately, his previous hesitance seemed to be replaced with curiosity, and he started to take a few tentative steps. He walked softly, as if he expected the ground to cave in if he was too rough. As if he was walking on thin ice. Albus suppressed the urge to point out that fact. 

Albus turned to lock the door behind them, just in case, although he knew they wouldn’t be disturbed. When he looked back, Scorpius was standing at least ten steps above him, looking around curiously. 

“I’ve never been up here this late before,” he mused, tucking a strand of white blond hair behind his ear. 

“You’ve been missing out. Come on!” Albus took enough steps so that he was one above Scorpius. It felt strange, being taller than him; Albus was used to Scorpius having an inch over him. 

Scorpius was looking at him in intrigue, which prompted Albus to smirk at him as he quickly ran up the rest of the steps. When he reached the top, followed shortly after by a slightly panting Scorpius, he stood in front of the doorway. 

“Close your eyes,” Albus insisted, and Scorpius obeyed. 

“How am I supposed to go in without bumping into something?”

“I’ll help,” Albus responded, and walked over until he was standing behind Scorpius. He placed both his hands on his shoulders, and felt Scorpius stiffen under him. _“Relax.”_

Scorpius let out a soft sigh, and loosened his shoulders. Albus took this as an invitation to start slowly urging him into the room. 

The astronomy tower was a huge, circular building with a wide, cone shaped roof. At the very back, directly opposite from the doorway, was a window. It wasn’t small, but it wasn’t huge either. Albus supposed this was because of the lack of glass windowpanes, although he’d never heard of anyone falling off the tower. 

He stopped when they were right in front of it, and he shivered as the cool breeze surrounded them. Scorpius stopped as well, and Albus stepped back. 

“Now you can open your eyes,” Albus said softly. 

He watched from the side as Scorpius took in the sight in front of him. The astronomy tower provided the best view in all of Hogwarts, but he was probably the only one who knew that. It directly overlooked the grounds, and the Forbidden Forest was visible in the distance. The pale moonlight danced on the glistening lake, which appeared as an almost black colour during the late hours of the night. 

But the most beautiful thing, in Albus’s opinion, was the sky. It looked just like a painting, with hues of dark blues and purples that held hundreds of tiny, glowing stars. 

They’d never had astronomy class this late at night, so most people had never truly seen just how bright stars could be, even with the telescopes. Albus had watched the sky in wonder for at least an hour the first time he’d come up here. 

_“Wow,”_ Scorpius breathed, and Albus realized he’d been watching the boy in front of him more than their breathtaking view. 

Scorpius was staring as far as he could to either side without leaning out of the window. It was like he wanted to take in as much as he possibly could, as if it was going to disappear any second. 

After a few minutes, Scorpius turned his head slightly so that he was looking at Albus. 

“How come you brought me here?” He asked quietly. “This seems like... _your place._ The kind you don’t tell people about.” 

“It is, sort of. I’ve never told anyone that they keep the astronomy tower unlocked after curfew, not even Rose. As far as I know, I’m the only one who comes up here this late.” 

“What about your friends? Do they know?” Scorpius asked curiously.

Albus shook his head, and Scorpius looked at him in awe. 

“I’m the first person you’ve told?”

Albus stared at his feet. He couldn’t explain why, but he felt nervous, almost afraid. Scorpius was looking at him like he was the most important thing in the world, and he didn’t know what to do. He tried to bring back some of his usual assertive demeanour, usually coming as easily as breathing, but it seemed to be completely wiped away. He felt like he was grasping at loose strings. 

After a minute, he spoke, forcing himself to look at Scorpius.

“I’ve never wanted to show anyone until now.”

“Why?” 

“I -“ he started, and realized he had no idea how to continue. “- don’t know.”

“Oh.” Scorpius looked back out the window, and his face seemed to fall the tiniest bit. It shouldn’t have even been noticeable, but Albus noticed. He immediately wanted to take back his answer. 

“I didn’t mean it like- like I don’t care or something,” Albus said quickly. “I just... I wanted to make you feel better. Obviously I had no idea if it would work, but-“ 

“Albus,” Scorpius interrupted, voice soft. “You don’t have to explain yourself. It’s okay.”

“No, I do,” Albus said, starting to grow frustrated. He was usually brilliant with words, but somehow he couldn’t manage to find the right ones when he needed them most. 

“I hate seeing you so- so... _sad.”_ He concluded lamely, wishing there was some sort of potion that would provide the user with a built in mental thesaurus. “It’s just... you’re the last person who deserves to be upset.” 

Scorpius was looking at him with that same expression he’d worn before, the one that made Albus want to look away because he didn’t want to ruin the moment. He quickly snapped his mouth shut and averted his gaze to the Hogwarts grounds again. 

Scorpius seemed to be at a loss for words, so Albus continued talking.

“I come here when I’m stressed. Or pissed off. When I’m happy, too. I come here all the time, actually. It’s the only place I can ever get some peace and quiet.” 

“I understand that,” Scorpius said quietly. “Chaos seems to follow you wherever you go.” 

Albus let out a relieved laugh. “That it does.” 

Scorpius was looking at him again, and he felt a little bit jittery. 

“Are you okay?” He asked, before he could stop himself. He felt like he would burst from anticipation if he didn’t find out the answer. 

To his surprise, Scorpius answered him immediately. 

“Yeah. I think so.” 

Albus raised an eyebrow, and Scorpius sighed. 

“I don’t usually freak out like that. I was thinking of my mother, and _you,_ and I just got a little overwhelmed, I guess.” 

“Me?”

“Huh?”

“You said you were thinking about me.” Albus’s heart was thudding. He felt like he’d run a marathon, and he couldn’t even blame it on the enormous set of stairs he’d just climbed.

“Oh,” Scorpius said, and Albus could see the realization dawning on his face. _“Oh.”_

“What about your mother?” Albus asked hastily, as Scorpius seemed to grow more and more regretful.

“It’s her birthday today. Or, the anniversary of it, I guess.” Scorpius sighed, moving his gaze back to the scenery. 

Albus froze. He didn’t know what he could say that could possibly cheer him up from _that_. He opened his mouth, and promptly closed it again. 

Scorpius turned back around, clearly sensing the obvious tension that had manifested itself in the room. 

“You don’t have to say anything,” Scorpius said. “I know no one likes talking about these kinds of things.” 

“I’m sorry,” Albus whispered, hating the fact that there was nothing he could do. 

“It’s okay. I miss her, of course, but I think I’ve been able to cope.” Scorpius gave him a small smile, and Albus knew Scorpius was staying positive for his sake. 

Albus didn’t respond. There was no need, and Scorpius was smart enough to know that. They settled into a more comfortable silence, both of them choosing to enjoy the feeling of the cool breeze on their faces. 

“Do you think we could come up here again sometime?” Scorpius asked after what felt like almost an hour. Albus startled at the sound of his voice, he’d been completely lost in his whirlwind of messy thoughts. 

“Whenever you want.” Albus insisted.

“Really?”

“Of course.” He responded, and Scorpius beamed at him, looking happier than he’d been all day.

Albus thought he might be a little in love with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i really told myself this was going to be a 1000 word fic lmfaooooo


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frustration, confusion, and tons of fluff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapterrrr! I think I'm pretty satisfied with how this whole fic turned out, and honestly I've never had so much fun writing before! I really hope you liked it, and for those of you who've been waiting, your support means so much to me :') I get so freaking happy every time I see a comment or a kudos, you guys are the sweetest. Anyway imma stop rambling lmao, enjoy!

“You’re going to have a heart attack if you eat any more of that.” 

Scorpius looked up from the chocolate in front of him to see Albus looking at him with an expression he’d define as a strange mixture of admiration and disbelief. Albus had a little bit of chocolate at the corner of his lip, and he’d taken fewer than ten bites before giving up. Scorpius supposed giant sweets weren’t catered to everyone’s taste. 

Albus was sitting on the floor beside him, his legs crossed and his head leaning against the stony walls of the astronomy tower, looking more content that Scorpius had ever seen him as the moonlight casted fading shadows upon his face.

Scorpius hadn’t been keeping track of how long they’d been up there. Likely more than an hour, but it was hard to tell. If he peered outside, the moon looked like it was in the exact same position it had been when they’d arrived. Everything did, he thought, except the chocolate frog, which had been brutally dismembered. 

Surprisingly enough, Scorpius found he wasn’t tired in the slightest. In fact, he could hardly remember a time he’d ever felt more _awake._

“Just a few more bites and I can finish the arm,” Scorpius pointed out, holding up a piece that would most definitely take more than a _few_ bites to complete. 

Albus raised his eyebrow, and Scorpius sighed in defeat. He put the limb down reluctantly, making a mental promise to finish it later. 

“Seriously, how are you not hyper already?” Albus asked, adjusting himself so that he was holding himself up with one arm, while the other lay loosely on his knee. 

“Sugar doesn’t actually make you hyper, you know. There’s no evidence of a link between sugar levels and hyperactivity. It’s probably just an excuse for parents to buy less sweets for their children.” 

“Maybe that’s true, but I’m starting to think there is a link between sugar levels and turning into a human encyclopedia,” Albus responded incredulously, raising his eyebrows. “You make me feel like I have the intellectual capacity of a Pygmy puff every time you open your mouth.” 

“Sorry,” he grinned. “I’ve been told I read too many books. Not that there is such a thing as too much reading.”

“Are you _trying_ to prove that you’re a nerd? Because you really don’t need to, I assure you. I’m sure it’s a widely known fact. I bet even the giant squid sits at the bottom of the lake wondering how anyone could possibly take in so many words at once.” 

“As honoured as I am that I’m a constantly on the squid’s mind, I believe you could also be classified as a nerd, Albus Potter.” 

Albus scoffed in disbelief. “How, exactly?”

“Advanced potions? Have you forgotten?”

“Potions isn’t that nerdy...” Albus said, wincing slightly.

“It absolutely is.” Scorpius said firmly, and Albus let out a distressed groan as he buried his head in his hands. 

“Fine, if you insist, but don’t say so in public. I do have a reputation to uphold, you know.” Albus said, bringing his head back up. He accompanied the statement with a wink, and Scorpius was grateful for the darkness in the room that would mask the pink that was undoubtedly making its way across his cheeks. 

“I promise,” he responded solemnly, placing a hand over his heart, and Albus grinned. 

“I’m serious, I’m already going to be the laughing stock of our year once my friends find out.”

“Once they find out what? That you’re good at something?” Scorpius couldn’t help but shake his head at Albus’s way of seeing things. 

“No, that I’m going to be stuck in a class with a bunch of O-level nerds.”

“But you’re one of those O-level nerds.”

 _“Shh, not so loud.”_ Albus whispered jokingly, and Scorpius laughed.

They fell back into a comfortable silence, but the conversation had manifested a new concern into his head. Albus’s friends, who had (as far as Scorpius knew) virtually no idea that Albus was having secret rendezvous with a Malfoy, of all people. 

He furrowed his brows, wondering if Albus has told them anything. Surely, they would ask questions. He could imagine the rumours already; Albus Potter thought to be sneaking around after hours could only come with the assumption that he was having a secret affair. 

“Hey,” Albus’s voice was soft, but it rang through the silence, springing him out of his thoughts. “Don’t do that.” 

“Do what?” Scorpius asked, confused. Was he fidgeting? 

“Worry. You worry too much.” 

“How-“ Scorpius started, astounded at Albus’s ability to notice things. Just when he was starting to think he couldn’t get any more observant...

“You’re an open book. You should probably work on that a little bit,” Albus teased, trying to lighten the mood, but his eyes gave away his concern even in the dimness of the pale white light that enveloped him. 

Scorpius didn’t respond. He didn’t know what to say.

He looked back down at the floor, hugging his knees closely to his chest. He could feel Albus’s eyes on him even though his own gaze was elsewhere, surveying him for answers to all the questions that lay between them. 

“What were you thinking about?” Albus asked after a moment’s hesitation. 

“What people might think.” 

“About what?”

“About us.” Scorpius cleared his throat. “Hanging out, I mean.” 

Albus’s face relaxed. Clearly he’d been expecting something a little more troubling than the crushing weight of the opinions of hundreds of students in Hogwarts. 

“I thought you didn’t care what people thought of you,” Albus said, turning to face him. Scorpius avoided his eyes, because meeting them was like being searched, and Albus was too good at that. 

“I don’t, not really. But...” he trailed off. “Don’t you?”

“You’re worried about what people are going to say about _me?_ ” Albus’s voice was filled with so much confusion that Scorpius had to look up. His eyes were slightly wide, and his mouth was agape. At least he didn’t look offended at the assumption, Scorpius supposed. 

“Why wouldn’t I be? Albus, can you imagine what people would say if they knew we were friends? What would _your_ friends say?” 

“Scorpius, if I dissected every possible rumour that could form about me before doing something, I wouldn’t be able to breathe freely.” Albus responded. 

“This is different.” Scorpius said quietly. 

“How?”

“Albus, your dad is Harry Potter.”

“Oh, really? I always wondered who I got my eyes from.” 

“I mean it.” Scorpius sighed. “If people knew that Harry Potter’s son was friends with a Malfoy...”

“They would be shocked for a couple of days, of course. Within a week, they’d be set on the next scandal.”

“Do you really think so?”

Albus paused for a moment too long before responding. “Yes.” 

They looked at each other for a heartbeat, and Albus was the one to turn away, as if he didn’t quite believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. 

Scorpius let the silence take over, once again, wishing he hadn’t spoken. Wishing Albus wasn’t so perceptive. Wishing it was just them, the two of them, and that they could forget about the idea of anyone else. 

Regardless of what people might say, Scorpius wasn’t entirely sure that he would even be able to handle simply being friends with Albus. It was difficult enough already, at the very top of the astronomy tower, where it was just the two of them and it was starting to feel an awful lot like a date. Albus was sitting close enough to him that if he raised his right arm, he’d be able to touch him; even that felt like too far a distance. 

Scorpius took a deep breath, and moved over so that he was the tiniest bit closer. If Albus noticed, he didn’t react. 

“I wouldn’t care.” Albus said quietly, pulling him back into the real world. “I wouldn’t care what people think. It wouldn’t matter to me.” 

“Me too.” 

“Okay.” 

“Albus?” 

“Yeah?” Albus’s voice was tentative, almost hesitant, like he didn’t know what to expect. 

Scorpius didn’t either. He’d spoken without knowing how to continue, and he wasn’t sure why. He wanted to say something, anything that would bring Albus’s teasing smile back, anything that would get rid of the gentle concern that Scorpius was beginning to develop a soft spot for. 

He stood up, brushing off his robes. Albus followed. 

“I-“ he started, trailing off as Albus’s gaze locked into his, eyes shining and eyebrows slightly furrowed in the middle, like he was looking for something. Scorpius felt his heart skip several beats. 

“Albus, I...” He started again, in the hopes that he could find the words as he spoke. They didn’t come. How could they, when Albus wouldn’t take his eyes off him? “I think I-“ 

Almost all at once, Albus’s face seemed to change; the tense, almost nervous expression he’d worn was replaced by a new one. A foreign one that Scorpius couldn’t recognize. It was uncertain but expectant, like he was waiting for something but didn’t know if it would ever arrive. 

He wondered if Albus knew. He wondered if he wanted Albus to know. 

He must know. Albus would have figured it out by now. 

He had to know.

Albus bit his lip, and stopped. Scorpius’s heart felt like it had travelled all the way up to his throat. He could feel every beat, in every part of his body. 

Scorpius didn’t know what came over him. The only thing that he was absolutely certain of at this point was that he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if he continued with his life without having kissed Albus Potter, at least one time. 

So he did. 

Albus let out a content gasp, and no more than a second after their lips met, he was snaking an arm around Scorpius’s waist, pulling him in. The other hand was on the back of his head, running through his hair before settling gently at the nape of his neck. 

His lips were soft, and they moved perfectly against his. There was no doubt that Albus had done this many times before, but Scorpius found even that was unable to put a dent in his mood. 

He was kissing Albus Potter.

 _Albus was kissing him back._

In the moment, Scorpius knew he would have chosen _this_ over all the chocolate frogs in the world. 

Scorpius didn’t know how long kisses were supposed to last. How long did he want it to last? 

It felt like a lifetime before Scorpius decided Albus’s lips were probably numb (he was doing most of the work, after all) and pulled back, feeling like he’d just dismounted a broom that had been flying at top speed. 

Albus’s breaths came faster than usual, and Scorpius was surprised to see that he was blushing. Actually _blushing._

They were still only an inch apart. There was a hint of a smile playing on Albus’s face. 

Scorpius felt it was his responsibility to break the silence. He had been the one to initiate the kiss, after all. 

If he spoke, the moment would be broken. Hesitantly, he brought his hand up to Albus’s face, tracing his cheek with the tips of his fingers. This time, Albus was the one to move forward, placing a gentle kiss on his lips. 

This one was different, Scorpius thought. It was softer, sweeter, and much shorter than the first. Scorpius could almost feel warmth spreading through every part of his body. 

“I guess we have bigger things to worry about than a mere Potter-Malfoy friendship, huh?” Albus asked quietly, the corner of his mouth lifting up into an adorable smirk. 

Scorpius grinned, relieved that Albus could manage to completely eliminate any possibility of an awkward situation, and wrinkled his nose. “Can we please forget about telling people for now?” 

“Gladly.” Albus responded. “Let’s just procrastinate on that bit. Now, I know that’s not a concept you’re familiar with-“ 

“Hey!” Scorpius attempted to look offended, but the smile on his face was probably a bit of a giveaway. 

Albus laughed, and Scorpius felt the sound in every part of him. 

It was so easy, being with Albus. It always has been, but it was different now. Scorpius didn’t know what to expect, because whenever he thought he did, something new would happen. It was like that with Albus, he’s learned, always an element of surprise. If he predicted left, Albus would go right. It was captivating and terrifying all at once. 

“It took you long enough, you know,” Albus said, adjusting the collar of Scorpius’s robes from where they’d been ruffled. 

“Wha- _me?_ What about you, Al?” Scorpius said, jaw dropping. 

“Scorpius, for someone so smart, you’re quite unobservant.” Albus said, raising a brow. “I’ve been flirting with you since forever.” 

“Okay, first of all, we only met a few weeks ago, so that’s a bit far fetched-“ 

“Hyperbole, Scorp,” Albus grinned. “You know what I mean.” 

“Scorp? That’s new.”

“You call me Al now, it’s only fair.” 

“Okay, fine. But you really expected me to catch on?” Scorpius pressed. Questions were streaming through his head faster than he could think. How did it start? How long had it been? They could have started this weeks ago. 

“Uh, yeah. Most people do.” 

“Most people who you flirt with?” Scorpius raised an eyebrow, trying not to think about Albus looking at someone else the way he’d just been looking at him. 

“I- just most people in general. I thought I’d have to make the first move.” 

“Well, I’m full of surprises.” Scorpius said cheerily. 

“Oh, are you?” Albus grinned wickedly, and Scorpius felt the blood rush into his cheeks. 

_“Albus!”_

“I’m kidding,” Albus laughed. “Mostly.”

Scorpius rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help smiling fondly at his new... whatever Albus was to him. Boyfriend? Partner? Friend with benefits? He shook the idea out of his head, and decided he would worry about it later. Once he ran out of other possible scenarios to worry about, of course.

Despite it all, he was happy. And Albus seemed to be too. 

He supposed that was really all that mattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really really REALLY hope you liked the ending (the saddest thing when you read a story is when the ending doesn't go the way you wanted it to, so...) and thank you to everyone who read, left kudos, or commented! You're amazingggg! Follow me on tumblr if you want (ignore my shameless self promo) it's the same username :)


End file.
